这是一个很多年前的故事，那时我正在北大荒的一个农场中接受劳动改造。我和几
个在文化革命中犯错误的干部被指派到一个湖旁种水稻。

有一天天上飞来一个大雁，大雁在天上飞了几圈，就停到稻地里吃起稻苗来了。它
哪里想到，正有几双饥饿的眼睛盯着它，想把它吞到肚子里。老王是从部队里转业
的，他连夜赶做了一个夹子，下在离稻田不远的地方。这样我们每天都到那里去检
查，连晚上做梦也在想大雁肉。这对于一年都未尝过肉味，肚子里一点油水都没有
的人，是多么不可抗拒的诱惑！可是每天我们看到的都是一个空夹子，大雁再也不
来了。我们也就渐渐忘了它。

有一天，我们走到稻田边，听到彷佛小孩啼哭的声音。我们顺着声音走过去，看到一
个大雁被夹在夹子上，它的腿被夹伤了。我们的高兴自不待言，正当我们要去抓住
这个已在手中的猎物时，我们听到了天上的叫声。声音是那么哀婉，那么焦切，一
只大雁在我们头顶上盘旋着，它一会儿冲向我们,一会儿又冲向天空。看到那个受
伤的大雁旁边的食物，我们明白了，原来这个雄雁已经受伤好几天了，雌雁每天都
在喂它。一种恻隐之情升到了我们的心里，经过一场言语不多的但是激烈的辩论后，
我们放了那只大雁，

看起来有些滑稽，在那个毫无恻隐之心的年代，几个被社会残酷地压到最底层的，
尤如丧家之犬的劳改分子，却对一只受伤的大雁动了恻隐之情。晚上躺在床上面对
饥饿的肚子的时候，我相信每个人都在懊悔。

但是如果再碰到这个场面，我们也许还会放了它。这许是人性的弱点，也许正是我
们的不可救药之处。

 二零零二年于北卡

Wild goose


This is a story from many years ago, while I was in a labor camp as
a prisoner. The camp was located at the border of China and Russia.
The Chinese used to call it the Great Northern Wilderness. I was as
signed to grow rice in a paddy by a lake far from the villiage
with several government Cadres who lost their power during the 
culture revolution.


One day, a wild goose appeared in the sky, and made several circles 
around the paddy field. Finally, it descended and began to eat the
rice seedlings. He never thought, that there were several pairs of
eager eyes staring intently at him, anxiously swallowing him whole 
into the stomach. 

One of my coworkers, Lao Wang, was a veteran from the army. That
night, he stayed late to make a trap clamp. When it was done, we
put it in the paddy field. Every day, we all went around the paddy
field several times to see (assess) if the wild goose had been
caught. At night we dreamed of tasting a wild goose meat. For people
who hadn't eaten any meat all year round and who had little fat
stored in the body, the meat of wild goose was a strong attraction!
However, every time, we only saw an empty clamp. It seemed the wild
goose would never come again. Gradually, we forgot the goose.


After several months had passed, we walked around the paddy field 
one afternoon and heard a sound like a child crying. We followed the
sound and found a wild goose caught by the clamp, his leg  clamped
and bleeding. Our happiness was beyond imagination. While we were
going to the clamp to get the goose off it, we heard a cry in the
sky. Sounds of grief, sounds of anxiousness. A wild goose circled
over our heads. It charged towards us one moment and then  soared
into the sky again. We noticed food around the wounded goose, and
we knew exactly what had happened. The male wild goose had been
trapped for several days, and the female wild goose had been feeding
him every day. Compassion rising in our hearts, we were all trapped
in one affection that was complicated and difficult to express in
words. After a short, but fierce debate, we all agreed to release
the goose.

It seems  unbelievable in a time without any sympathy between human
beings, some people being oppressed cruelly by powerful persons, 
and treated like wandering dogs of the street, without receiving
any sympathy from the society, that we had given mercy to a wounded
wild goose. I believe, lying on the bed that night, with  a hunger
to the stomach, that everyone would feel remorse about what they
had done in the day.

However, if  it happens again, we may do the same thing. This
weakness we inherited might be just the incorrigible weakness of
our human nature.