98.海龜傳信 Turtle Mail

98.TURTLE MAIL

　　During the 1850’s, there was a lot of unrest in Taiwan, so the Emperor sent Xu Shuyan with soldiers to calm everything down. Tang Yian was sent along with him. Tang was anxious to find out how things were with his little brother, Tang Shengan, who was leading troops in Xiamen, across the Taiwan Strait on the mainland. But communications in those days were poor at best, and during wartime,it was almost impossible to get letters through.

　　One day four coolies came with a huge sea turtle for sale. It was gigantic, and the price they were asking was, also. Tang’s subordinate Chang thought of buying it, but balked at the price they asked.

　　The coolies asked Mrs. Tang, but she thought the price was too high, too. Just as the coolies were about to take it away, Mrs. Tang saw the turtle looking at her with a sad expression in its eyes. It was crying. She felt sorry for it, so even though the price was high, she bought it. She talked it over with her husband, and he decided to set it free in the ocean the next day.

　　The turtle was so huge that it took four coolies to bring it in, but when Tang happened to move it the next morning, he found it was so light that he could carry it himself.

　　‘This is no ordinary turtle,’ he thought. Silently, he sent a message to the turtle. ‘I believe that you must be a supernatural turtle. Whether or not you are, I am going to set you free in the ocean today, the eighth of September. If you do have powers, I would appreciate it very much if you could have my brother, Tang Shengan, now leading troops in Xiamen, write a letter to me. Have you got that?’

　　Then he set the turtle free. It seemed happy to be back in the water! It frolicked in the waves. As it swam away, it looked back over its shoulder and nodded at Tang three times. It seemed to be saying Thank you.

　　A month later, a letter came from Tang Shengan, saying that everything was all right. The letter was dated September 8.

　　Could it be a coincidence? Or had the turtle understood Yian’s telepathic message and somehow passed it on to Shengan? Perhaps this was how the turtle expressed its gratitude for its life.

　　The Wang brothers had done their country a great service during those troubled times, but they had had enough of fighting and military glory. They retired to lead quiet lives in the country. They often told their neighbors this story, to remind people that animals love their lives, and that by helping animals, sometimes you can help yourself, too.

98.海龜傳信

　　十九世紀五十年代，台灣動盪不安，因此皇上派遣徐書炎帶領軍隊前去平亂。唐易安隨軍同往。他的弟弟唐盛安駐扎在海峽對岸的廈門，易安非常想知道弟弟的情況。但是那個年代通訊並不發達，特別是在戰亂時期，通信是根本不可能的。

　　一天，四個苦力抬來一只巨大的海龜出售。這只海龜體形龐大，售價也高得驚人。唐易安的屬下常副官想把它買下來，可是高昂的價格使他望而卻步。

　　幾個苦力向唐太太兜售，可是唐太太也覺得價錢太貴了。正當苦力準備把海龜抬走時，唐太太看到海龜正用一種悲哀的眼神看著她。它分明是在哭泣。唐太太覺得它太可憐了，于是儘管價錢很高，她還是把海龜買下來了。她把這件事告訴了丈夫，唐易安決定第二天把海龜放歸大海。

　　那只海龜大得需要四個苦力才能抬動，可是第二天早上，當唐易安碰巧要挪動它，他發現海龜很輕，只要自己一個人就可以帶走。

　　『這一定不是普通的海龜，』他想。于是他在心里默默地對海龜說道， 『我相信你一定是只神龜。不管是不是這樣，今天，九月初八，我要把你放歸大海。如果你真有神通，就請你讓駐扎在廈門的我的弟弟唐 盛安給我寫封信來，我會感激不盡的。你明白了嗎？』

　　然後他便把海龜放生了。海龜重歸大海，顯得異常高興。它在波濤中盡情地嬉戲。當它游走時，它回過頭來向著唐易安點了三點，似乎是在向他道謝。

　　一個月後，易安收到了盛安的家信，信中說他一切都好。而信尾的日期正是九月初八。

　　難道這是巧合嗎？還是海龜感應到了易安的心里的想法並把它傳達給了盛安？也許那只海龜想這樣做來報答易安的救命之恩。

　　王氏兄弟為國家效力多年，在戰亂時期屢立戰功，但是他們對征戰功名感到了厭倦。于是他們解甲歸田，過起了平靜的生活。他們經常給鄰里講這個故事，告訴人們動物也是熱愛生命的，而且當你救助動物時，你自己也會得到幫助的。