The "I CAN'T" Funeral
埋葬不可能
One day, I entered Donna's classroom, took a seat in the back of the room and watched. All the students were working on a task.
有一天,我走进了唐娜的课堂,在教室后面坐了下来,观察这个教室的情况。所有学生都正在完成一项任务。
The student next to me was filling her page with "I Can'ts."
我旁边的学生正写着她不能做到的事情,只见纸上写有许多“我不能”。
"I can't do long division(除法) with more than three numerals." "I can't get along well with my brother." Her page was half full and she showed no signs of stopping.
“我不能进行超过三位数的除法运算。” “我不能和我的哥哥和睦相处。” 她已经写了半页纸,但丝毫没有停下的意思。
I walked down the row and found everyone was writing sentences, describing things they couldn't do.
我走下位置,一排排地看过去,发现每个人都在纸上写着他们不能做到的事。
By this time the activity aroused my curiosity, so I decided to check with the teacher to see what was going on, but I noticed she too was busy writing. "I can't get John's mother to come for a parents' meeting."
这时,这个活动引起了我的好奇心,所以我决定问问老师他们在干什么,但我发现她也在忙着写东西。“我不能让约翰的妈妈来参加家长会。”
I felt it best not to interrupt.
我觉得我最好还是别打扰她。
After another ten minutes, the students were instructed to fold the papers in half and bring them to the front. They placed their "I Can't" statements into an empty box.
又过了十分钟之后,老师让学生们把纸对折,交到讲台上来。他们把写满“我不能”的纸放进了一个空盒子里。
Then Donna added hers. She put the lid(盖子) on the box, tucked it under her arm and headed out the door.
然后唐娜把她的也放了进去。她盖上盒子,把它夹在腋下,出了门。
Students followed the teacher. I followed the students.
学生们跟着老师出去了,我跟在学生后面。
Halfway down the hallway Donna got a shovel(铁锹) from the tool house, and then marched the students to the farthest corner of the playground.
走到过道的一半,唐娜从工具间里拿了一把铁锹,然后带领学生走向了操场最远的角落。
There they began to dig. The box of "I Can'ts" was placed at the bottom of the hole and then quickly covered with dirt.
他们开始在那挖坑。他们把装着“我不能”的盒子放在了坑底,然后迅速用土把坑填了。
At this point Donna announced, "Boys and girls, please join hands and drop your heads." They quickly formed a circle around the grave.
这时唐娜说道:“孩子们,拉起手,低下头。” 他们很快就围着坟墓站成了一个圈。
Donna delivered the eulogy(悼词). "Friends, we gathered here today to honor the memory of 'I Can't.' He is replaced by his brothers and sisters 'I Can', 'I Will' and 'I'm going to.' 'May 'I Can't' rest in peace."
唐娜发表悼词:“朋友们,我们今天聚在此地,为‘我不能’先生举行葬礼。它的兄弟姐妹‘我能’、‘我将’、‘我要’将代替他陪着我们。希望他能安息。”
She turned the students around and marched them back into the classroom. They celebrated the passing of "I Can't".
她让学生们转身,又带领他们回到了教室。“我不能”已成为过去,他们为此而庆祝。
Donna cut a large tombstone from paper. She wrote the words "I Can't" at the top and the date at the bottom, then hung it in the classroom.
唐娜用纸剪了个大大的墓碑。在墓碑的顶部写下“我不能”,在墓碑的底部写上今天的日期,然后把它挂在了教室里。