When my daughter was in grade school one day she brought home 4 tiny twigs.

我女兒讀小學的時候，有天放學回家，她帶回了4只細細的小樹枝

They were trees given to the students by the school to plant.

這些樹枝是學校發給學生們的，讓他們帶回家種植

None of them looked very hardy

他們看上去都有些弱不禁風

but with a hope for the future

不過我還是心存著一絲希望

I got a spade and planted them in our backyard.

就拿來鐵鏟，把它們種到了后院里

Over the years an accident with the lawnmower and poor soil brought an end to three of them.

數年時間過去，一起與割草機有關的意外事件，加上貧瘠的土壤，讓4棵小樹中的3棵都不幸夭折了

All that was left was a single evergreen .

唯一幸存下來的是一株常青藤

It grew crooked and very slowly.

它長得歪歪扭扭，長勢也十分遲緩

It never got very tall and tilted to one side.

它從未長到很高的高度，還總是歪向一邊

In the end it looked more like a fat bush than a tree.

到最后，它看上去更像是一叢肥大的灌木，而非一棵樹

I noticed a few years ago too that it was starting to die.

數年前我就注意到，它已經開始衰老

The lower branches were becoming bare.

下層的樹枝開始變得光禿禿的

The needles on the branches a little further up had turned brown.

上端的枝條上，那些尖尖的樹葉也開始變成棕色

Only the top third of the tree was still green.

只有最頂端第三層的枝葉還青翠著

Last summer I did my best to save it by feeding it a lot of fertilizer but to no avail.

去年夏天，我竭盡全力想要救活它，給它喂了一大堆肥料，結果去無濟于事

This morning I went out and looked at it again.

今天早上，我出門的時候又看了它一次

I was deciding on whether it would be better to just cut it down.

我考慮著是不是應該直接把它砍掉為好

It sure would make mowing the lawn easier

這樣一來修剪草坪也會比較容易

and I would no longer have to watch it slowly decay .

我也再不用看著它慢慢枯萎，心生悲苦了

As I walked over to take a closer look at it, however,

可是，當我慢慢走近它，仔細一看

I noticed something moving within the needles.

我發現樹葉叢中有什么東西在移動

It was a robin patiently building a nest in the topmost branches.

那是一只知更鳥，它正棲在最高的枝條上，不辭勞苦的想把自己的窩搭在那里

I smiled when I looked at it

我看著它微笑了

and decided that maybe this old tree had some life and usefulness left in it yet.

我想，或許這棵老樹還有一絲生機尚存，也還有些用處

It may not be healthy or pretty

或許它并不健康，也不夠漂亮

but it was still giving a bird a home

但它還能給鳥兒提供一個安身之所

and oxygen to this world.

還能給世界一些氧氣

This tree reminded me of something too.

這棵樹讓我想起了什么

All of our lives have purpose.

每個人活著都有自己的目標

All of our lives have meaning.

我們的生命都有內在的意義

It doesn’t matter if we are young and strong or old and sickly.

無論我們是年輕力壯還是年老病弱，都沒有關系

Until our last breath there are things for us to do, love for us to give, and joy for us to share.

直到我們停止呼吸前最后一刻，我們都有事情可以去做，我們都還懷著愛可以給予別人，還能分享自己的快樂

Until our last moment here we can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.

直到我們生命的最后一刻，我們還可以奉獻一份力量，讓世界成為更好，更美麗的地方。