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 assigned to grow rice in a paddy by a lake far
from the village center with several government Cadres who lost
their power during the struggle of 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 an army veteran. 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 if the wild goose had been trapped. We dreamed at night of
tasting a wild goose. For people who had no taste of any meat
all year round and who had little fat stored in the stomach,
the meat of wild goose was a strong temptation! 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 on the clamp, his
leg gripped and bleeding. Our happiness could not be imagined.
While we were going to the clamp to get the goose off, we heard
a yelling in the sky, sounds of grief, sounds of anxiousness.
A wild goose circled over our heads. It charged towards us one
moment and then charged 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 hearts, we all were caught in one affection that was
complicated and difficult to express by words. After a short,
but fierce debate, we all agreed to release the goose.

  it seemed amusing all this happened at a age and a time
without any sympathy between human beings, several people being
pressed on cruelly by the society down into the bottom, treated
like wandering dogs of the street, without receiving any
sympathy from the people, had given mercy to one wild goose
wounded. I believe, lying on the bed that night, with a hunger
to the abdomen, everyone would feel remorse about what they had
done in the day. 

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