称手 Fits the Hand 读给你听 Listen 粤 Canto · 国 Mandarin · EN
最早的碗, 是一片贝壳, 一捧泥。 先吃饱, 别的再说。 后来碗镶了金, 碗里是什么不要紧了, 要紧的是 谁端着它。 白瓷那么干净, 一失手就碎。 钢碗摔不坏, 掉在地上, 叮的一声。 我们怕碎, 怕沉, 也怕一些 看不见的东西, 就又换了一只。 这一只灰灰的, 有一个圆圆的柄。 大人说它轻, 说它结实, 也说它贵。 孩子什么也没说, 一只手端起来, 自己吃完了饭。 碗还会再换的。 换成什么都好, 小手够得着就行。
The first bowl was a shell, a handful of clay. Eat first; the rest could wait. Then bowls were dressed in gold, and what they held mattered less than whose hands held them. White porcelain, so clean, broke at one careless touch. The steel bowl fell and only rang, one small bright note. We feared the breaking, the weight, and things we could not see, so we changed the bowl again. This one is a quiet grey, with one round handle. The grown-ups call it light, and strong, and dear. The child says nothing, lifts it with one hand, and eats it clean, no help at all. Bowls will change again. Let them be anything, so long as small hands can reach them.