最后一片叶子

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1、最后一片叶子（欧亨利小说）编辑最后一片叶子，一译最后的常春藤叶，主人公是琼西、艾、贝尔曼。文中作者着 力挖掘和赞美小人物的伟大人格和高尚品德，展示他们向往人性世界的美好愿望。最后一片 叶子”的故事，着实让我们为琼西的命运紧了一番，为艾的友谊感叹了一回，为贝尔曼的博 爱震撼了一次。作者通过对穷苦朋友间友谊的描写，刻画出一个舍己为人的以自己生命为代价创造真正 杰作的画家形象，讴歌了以贝尔曼为代表的普通人的高尚。书 名最后一片叶子又 名最后的常春藤叶作 者欧亨利原版名称The Last Leaf装 帧平装开 本161作者简介生平手法2作品容3作品原文中文原文英文原文4作品赏析作者简介林编辑生平186

2、2年9月11日，美国最著名的短篇小说家之一一欧亨利(O.Henry)出生于美国北 卡罗来纳州有个名叫格林斯波罗的小镇。曾被评论界誉为曼哈顿桂冠散文作家和美国现代短 篇小说之父。1862年他出身于美国北卡罗来纳州格林斯波罗镇一个医师家庭。父亲是医生。 他原名威廉西德尼波特(William Sydney Porter)。他所受教育不多，15岁便开始在药房 当学徒，20岁时由于健康原因去德克萨斯州的一个牧场当了两年牧牛人，积累了对西部生 活的亲身经验。1884年以后做过会计员、土地局办事员、新闻记者。此后，他在德克萨斯 做过不同的工作，包括在奥斯汀银行当出纳员。他还办过一份名为滚石的幽默周刊，并 在

3、休斯敦一家日报上发表幽默小说和趣闻逸事。1887年，亨利结婚并生了一个女儿。正当 他的生活颇为安定之时，却发生了一件改变他命运的事情。1896年，奥斯汀银行指控他在 任职期间盗用资金。他为了躲避受审，逃往洪都拉斯。1897年，后因回家探视病危的妻子 被捕入狱，判处5年徒刑。在狱中曾担任药剂师，他创作第一部作品的起因是为了给女儿买 圣诞礼物，但基于犯人的身份不敢使用真名，乃用一部法国药典的编者的名字作为笔名，在 麦克吕尔杂志发表。1901年，因“行为良好”提前获释，来到纽约专事写作。正当他 的创作力最旺盛的时候，健康状况却开始恶化，于1910年病逝。欧亨利在大概十年的时间创作了短篇小说共有300

4、多篇，收入白菜与国王(1904)其 唯一一部长篇，作者通过四五条并行的线索，试图描绘出一幅广阔的画面，在写法上有它的 别致之处。不过从另一方面看，小说章与章之间的在联系不够紧密，各有独立的容、四百 万(1906)、西部之心(1907)、市声(1908)、滚石(1913)等集子，其中以描写纽 约曼哈顿市民生活的作品为最著名。他把那儿的街道、小饭馆、破旧的公寓的气氛渲染得十 分逼真，故有“曼哈顿的桂冠诗人”之称。他曾以骗子的生活为题材，写了不少短篇小说。 作者企图表明道貌岸然的上流社会里，有不少人就是高级的骗子，成功的骗子。欧亨利对 社会与人生的观察和分析并不深刻，有些作品比较浅薄，但他一生困顿，

5、常与失意落魄的小 人物同甘共苦，又能以别出心裁的艺术手法表现他们复杂的感情。他的作品构思新颖，语言 诙谐，结局常常出人意外；又因描写了众多的人物，富于生活情趣，被誉为“美国生活的幽 默百科全书”。因此，他最出色的短篇小说如爱的牺牲(A Service of Love*警察与赞 美诗(The Cop and the Anthem、带家具出租的房间(The Furnished Room)、麦琪的 礼物(The Gift of the Magi)、最后的常春藤叶(The Last Leaf)等都可列入世界优秀短 篇小说之中。他的文字生动活泼，善于利用双关语、讹音、谐音和旧典新意，妙趣横生被喻为含泪

6、的微笑。他还以准确的细节描写，制造与再现气氛，特别是大都会夜生活的气氛。手法欧亨利还以擅长结尾闻名遐迩，美国文学界称之为“欧亨利式的结尾”他善于戏剧 性地设计情节，埋下伏笔，作好铺垫，勾勒矛盾，最后在结尾处突然让人物的心理情境发生 出人意料的变化，或使主人公命运陡然逆转，使读者感到豁然开朗，柳暗花明，既在意料之 外，又在情理之中，不禁拍案称奇，从而造成独特的艺术魅力。有一种被称为“含泪的微笑” 的独特艺术风格。欧亨利把小说的灵魂全都凝聚在结尾部分，让读者在前的似乎是平淡无 奇的而又是诙谐风趣的娓娓动听的描述中，不知不觉地进入作者精心设置的迷宫，直到最后， 忽如电光一闪，才照亮了先前隐藏着的一切

7、，仿佛在和读者捉迷藏，或者在玩弄障眼法，给 读者最后一个惊喜。在欧亨利之前，其他短篇小说家也已经这样尝试过这种出乎意料的结 局。但是欧亨利对此运用得更为经常，更为自然，也更为纯熟老到。作品容编辑穷画家琼珊得了重病,在病房里看着窗外对面树上的常春藤叶子不断被风吹落，她认为 最后一片叶子的凋代表自己的死亡，于是她失去了生存的意志。医生认为再这样下去琼珊会 死去。贝尔曼，一个伟大的画家，在听完艾讲述室友琼珊的事情后，夜里冒着暴雨，用心灵 的画笔画出了一片“永不凋落”的常春藤叶，让琼珊重拾对生命的希望，而自己却因此患上 肺炎，去世了。作品原文编辑中文原文在华盛顿广场西面的一个小区里，街道仿佛发了狂似的

8、分成了许多叫做“巷子”的小胡 同。这些“巷子”形成许多奇特的角度和曲线。一条街有时自己本身就交叉了不止一次。有 一回一个画家发现这条街有他的可贵之处。如果一个商人去收颜料、纸和画布的账款，在这 条街上转弯抹角、大兜圈子的时候，突然碰到一毛钱也没收到、空手而归的自己，那才有意 思呢！所以，不久之后不少画家就摸索到这个古色古香的老格林尼治村来了。他们逛来逛去， 寻求朝北的窗户、18世纪的三角墙、荷兰式的阁楼，以及低廉的房租。然后，他们又从第 六街买来一些锡蜡杯子和一两只烘锅，组成了一个“艺术区”。艾和琼珊在一座矮墩墩的的三层楼砖屋的顶楼设立了她们的画室。“琼珊”是琼西的昵 称。她俩一个来自缅因州，

9、一个是加利福尼亚州人。她们是在德尔蒙戈饭馆吃客饭时碰到的， 彼此一谈，发现她们对艺术、饮食、衣着的口味十分相投，结果便联合租下了那间画室。那是5月里的事。到了 11月，一个冷酷的、肉眼看不见的、医生们叫做“肺炎”的不速 之客，在艺术区里悄悄地游荡，用他冰冷的手指头这里碰一下那里碰一下。在广场东头，这 个破坏者明目胆地踏着大步，一下子就击倒几十个受害者，可是在迷宫一样、狭窄而铺满青 的“胡同”里，他的步伐就慢了下来。肺炎先生不是一个你们心目中行侠仗义的老绅士。一个身子单薄，被加利福尼亚州的西 风刮得没有血色的弱女子，本来不应该是这个有着红拳头的、呼吸急促的老家伙打击的对象。 然而，琼西却遭到了打

10、击；她躺在一油漆过的铁床上，一动也不动，凝望着小小的荷兰式玻 璃窗外对面砖房的空墙。一天早晨，那个忙碌的医生扬了扬他那毛茸茸的灰白色眉毛，把叫到外边的走廊上。“我看，她的病只有一成希望，”他说，一面把体温表里的水银甩下去，“这一成希望 在于她自己要不要活下去。人们不想活，情愿照顾殡仪馆的生意，这种精神状态使医药一筹 莫展。你的这位小姐满肚子以为自己不会好了。她有什么心事吗？”“她一一她希望有一天能够去画那不勒斯海湾。”艾说。“绘画？一一别瞎扯了！她心里有没有值得想两次的事情。比如说，1男人？”“男人？”艾像吹口琴似的扯着嗓子说，“男人难道值得.不，医生，没有这样的 事。”“能达到的全部力量去治

11、疗她。可要是我的病人开始算计会有多少辆马车送她出丧，我 就得把治疗的效果减掉百分之五十。只要你能想法让她对冬季大衣袖子的时新式样感到兴趣 而提出一两个问题，那我可以向你保证把医好她的机会从十分之一提高到五分之一。”医生 走后，艾走进工作室里，把一条日本餐巾哭成一团湿。后来她手里拿着画板，装做精神抖擞 的样子走进琼西的屋子，嘴里吹着爵士音乐调子。琼西躺着，脸朝着窗口，被子底下的身体纹丝不动。以为她睡着了，赶忙停止吹口哨。她架好画板，开始给杂志里的故事画一钢笔插图。年轻的画家为了铺平通向艺术的道路， 不得不给杂志里的故事画插图，而这些故事又是年轻的作家为了铺平通向文学的道路而不得 不写的。艾正在给

12、故事主人公，一个爱达荷州牧人的身上，画上一条马匹展览会穿的时髦马裤和 一片单眼镜时，忽然听到一个重复了几次的低微的声音。她快步走到床边。琼珊的眼睛睁得很大。她望着窗外，数着倒过来数。“12,”她数道，歇了一会又说，“11”，然后是“10”，和“9”，接着几乎同时数 着 “8” 和 “7”。艾关切地看了看窗外。那儿有什么可数的呢？只见一个空荡阴暗的院子，20英尺以外 还有一所砖房的空墙。一棵老极了的常春藤，枯萎的根纠结在一块，枝干攀在砖墙的半腰上。 秋天的寒风把藤上的叶子差不多全都吹掉了，几乎只有光秃的枝条还缠附在剥落的砖块上。“什么，亲爱的？”问道。“6, ”琼西几乎用耳语低声说道，“它们现在

13、越落越快了。三天前还有差不多一百片。 我数得头都疼了。但是现在好数了。又掉了一片。只剩下五片了。”“五片什么，亲爱的。告诉你的艾。”“叶子。常春藤上的。等到最后一片叶子掉下来，我也就该去了。这件事我三天前就知 道了。难道医生没有告诉你？”“哟，我从来没听过这么荒唐的话，”艾满不在乎地说，“那些破常春藤叶子同你的病 有什么相干？你以前不是很喜欢这棵树吗？得啦，你这个淘气的姑娘。不要说傻话了。瞧， 医生今天早晨还告诉我，说你迅速痊愈的机会是，让我想想他是怎么说的-他说你好的几率 有十比一！噢，那简直和我们在纽约坐电车或者走过一座新楼房的把握一样大。喝点汤吧， 让艾去画她的画，好把它卖给编辑先生，换

14、了钱来给她的病孩子买点红葡萄酒，再买些猪排 给自己解解馋。”“你不用买酒了，”琼珊的眼睛直盯着窗外说道，“又落了一片。不，我不想喝汤。只 剩下四片了。我想在天黑以前等着看那最后一片叶子掉下去。然后我也要去了。”“琼珊，亲爱的，”艾俯着身子对她说，“等我画完行吗？明天我一定得交出这些插图。 我需要光线，否则我就拉下窗帘了。”“你就不能到另一间屋子里去画吗？ ”琼西冷冷地问道。“我要在这儿陪你，和你在一起，”艾说，“再说，我不喜欢你老是盯着那些叶子看。”“你一画完就叫我，”琼珊说着，便闭上了眼睛。她脸色苍白，一动不动地躺在床上， 就像是座横倒在地上的雕像。“因为我想看那最后一片叶子掉下来，我等得不

15、耐烦了，也想 得不耐烦了。我想摆脱一切，飘下去，飘下去，像一片可怜的疲倦了的叶子那样。”“你争取睡一会儿，”艾说道，“我得下楼把贝尔曼叫上来，给我当那个隐居的老矿工 的模特儿。我一会儿就会回来的。你不要动，等我回来。”老贝尔曼是住在她们这座楼房底层的一个画家。他年过60，有一把像米开朗琪罗的摩 西雕像那样的大胡子，这胡子长在一个像半人半兽的森林之神的头颅上，又鬈曲地飘拂在小 鬼似的身躯上。贝尔曼是个失败的画家。他操了四十年的画笔，还远没有摸着艺术女神的衣 裙。他老是说就要画他的那幅杰作了，可是直到现在他还没有动笔。几年来，他除了偶尔画 点商业广告之类的玩意儿以外，什么也没有画过。他给艺术区里穷

16、得雇不起职业模特儿的年 轻画家们当模特儿，挣一点钱。他喝酒毫无节制，还时常提起他要画的那幅杰作。除此以外， 他是一个火气十足的小老头子，十分瞧不起别人的温情，却认为自己是专门保护楼上画室里 那两个年轻女画家的一只看家犬。艾在楼下他那间光线黯淡的斗室里找到了贝尔曼，满嘴酒气扑鼻。一幅空白的画布绷在 个画架上，摆在屋角里，等待那幅杰作已经25年了，可是连一根线条都还没等着。艾把琼 珊的胡思乱想告诉了他，还说她害怕琼珊自个儿瘦小柔弱得像一片叶子一样，对这个世界的 留恋越来越微弱，恐怕真会离世飘走了。老贝尔曼两只发红的眼睛显然在迎风流泪，他十分轻蔑地嗤笑这种傻呆的胡思乱想。“什么，”他喊道，“世界上竟

17、会有人蠢到因为那些该死的常春藤叶子落掉就想死？我 从来没有听说过这种怪事。不，我才没功夫给你那隐居的矿工糊涂虫当模特儿呢。你怎么可 以让她胡思乱想？唉，可怜的琼珊小姐。”“她病得很厉害很虚弱，”艾说，“发高烧发得她神经昏乱，满脑子都是古怪想法。好 吧，贝尔曼先生，你不愿意给我当模特儿就算了，我看你是个讨厌的老.老啰唆鬼。”“你简直太婆婆妈妈了！”贝尔曼喊道，“谁说我不愿意当模特儿？走，我和你一块去。 我不是讲了半天愿意给你当模特儿吗？老天爷，像琼珊小姐这么好的姑娘真不应该躺在这种 地方生病。总有一天我要画一幅杰作，那时我们就可以都搬出去了。“一定的！”他们上楼以后，琼珊正睡着觉。艾把窗帘拉下，

18、一直遮住窗台，做手势叫贝尔曼到隔壁 屋子里去。他们在那里提心吊胆地瞅着窗外那棵常春藤。后来他们默默无言，彼此对望了一 会。寒冷的雨夹杂着雪花不停地下着。贝尔曼穿着他的旧蓝衬衣，坐在一把翻过来充当岩石 的铁壶上，扮作隐居的矿工。第二天早晨，艾只睡了一个小时的觉，醒来了，她看见琼珊无神的眼睛睁得大注视拉下 的绿窗帘。“把窗帘拉起来，我要看看。”她低声地命令道。艾疲倦地照办了。然而，看呀！经过了漫长一夜的风吹雨打，在砖墙上还挂着一片藤叶。它是常春藤上最后的一片叶子了。靠近茎部仍然是深绿色，可是锯齿形的叶子边缘已经枯萎发黄，它傲然挂 在一根离地二十多英尺的藤枝上。“这是最后一片叶子。”琼珊说道，“我以

19、为它昨晚一定会落掉的。我听见风声了。今 天它一定会落掉，我也会死的。”“哎呀，哎呀，”艾把疲乏的脸庞挨近枕头边上对她说，“你不肯为自己着想，也得为 我想想啊。我可怎么办呢？”可是琼珊不回答。当一个灵魂正在准备走上那神秘的、遥远的死亡之途时，她是世界上 最寂寞的人了。那些把她和友谊极联结起来的关系逐渐消失以后，她那个狂想越来越强烈了。白天总算过去了，甚至在暮色中她们还能看见那片孤零零的藤叶仍紧紧地依附在靠墙的 枝上。后来，夜的来临带来呼啸的北风，雨点不停地拍打着窗子，雨水从低垂的荷兰式屋檐 上流泻下来。天刚蒙蒙亮，琼珊就毫不留情地吩咐拉起窗帘来。那片枯藤叶仍然在那里。琼珊躺着对它看了许久。然后她

20、招呼正在煤气炉上给她煮鸡汤的。“我是一个坏女孩儿，艾，”琼珊说，“天意让那片最后的藤叶留在那里，证明我曾经 有多么坏。想死是有罪的。你现在就给我拿点鸡汤来，再拿点掺葡萄酒的牛奶来，再-不， 先给我一面小镜子，再把枕头垫垫高，我要坐起来看你做饭。”过了一个钟头，她说道：“艾，我希望有一天能去画那不勒斯的海湾。”下午医生来了，他走的时候，艾找了个借口跑到走廊上。“有五成希望。”医生一面说，一面把艾细瘦的颤抖的手握在自己的手里，“好好护理， 你会成功的。现在我得去看楼下另一个病人。他的名字叫贝尔曼.听说也是个画家，也是 肺炎。他年纪太大，身体又弱，病势很重。他是治不好的了，今天要把他送到医院里，让他

21、 更舒服一点。”第二天，医生对艾说：“她已经脱离危险，你成功了。现在只剩下营养和护理了。”下午艾跑到琼珊的床前，琼珊正躺着，安详地编织着一条毫无用处的深蓝色毛线披肩。 艾用一只胳臂连枕头带人一把抱住了她。“我有件事要告诉你，小家伙，”她说，“贝尔曼先生今天在医院里患肺炎去世了。他 只病了两天。头一天早晨，门房发现他在楼下自己那间房里痛得动弹不了。他的鞋子和衣服 全都湿透了，冰凉冰凉的。他们搞不清楚在那个凄风苦雨的夜晚，他究竟到哪里去了。后来 他们发现了一盏没有熄灭的灯笼，一把挪动过地方的梯子，几支扔得满地的画笔，还有一块 调色板，上面涂抹着绿色和黄色的颜料，还有，亲爱的，瞧瞧窗子外面，瞧瞧墙上

22、那最后一 片藤叶。难道你没有想过，为什么风刮得那样厉害，它却从来不摇一摇、动一动呢？唉，亲 爱的，这片叶子才是贝尔曼的杰作。就是在最后一片叶子掉下来的晚上，他把它画在那里 的。”英文原文In a little district west of Washington Square the streets have run crazy and broken themselves into small strips called places. These places make strange angles and curves. One Street crosses itself a time

23、or two. An artist once discovered a valuable possibility in this street. Suppose a collector with a bill for paints, paper and canvas should, in traversing this route, suddenly meet himself coming back, without a cent having been paid on account!So, to quaint old Greenwich Village the art people soo

24、n came prowling, hunting for north windows and eighteenth-century gables and Dutch attics and low rents. Then they imported some pewter mugs and a chafing dish or two from Sixth Avenue, and became a colony.At the top of a squatty, three-story brick Sue and Johnsy had their studio. Johnsy was familia

25、r for Joanna. One was from Maine; the other from California. They had met at the table dhôte of an Eighth Street Delmonicos, and found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so congenial that the joint studio resulted.That was in May. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom th

26、e doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the colony, touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Over on the east side this ravager strode boldly, smiting his victims by scores, but his feet trod slowly through the maze of the narrow and moss-grown places.Mr. Pneumonia was not what you would

27、call a chivalric old gentleman. A mite of a little woman with blood thinned by California zephyrs was hardly fair game for the red-fisted, short-breathed old duffer. But Johnsy he smote; and she lay, scarcely moving, on her painted iron bedstead, looking through the small Dutch window-panes at the b

28、lank side of the next brick house.One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a shaggy, grey eyebrow.She has one chance in - let us say, ten, he said, as he shook down the mercury in his clinical thermometer. And that chance is for her to want to live. This way people have of linin

29、g-u on the side of the undertaker makes the entire pharmacopoeia look silly. Your little lady has made up her mind that shes not going to get well. Has she anything on hermind?She - she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples some day. said Sue.Paint? - bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking tw

30、ice - a man for instance?A man? said Sue, with a jews-harp twang in her voice. Is a man worth - but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind.Well, it is the weakness, then, said the doctor. I will do all that science, so far as it may filter through my efforts, can accomplish. But whenever my patie

31、nt begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I subtract 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines. If you will get her to ask one question about the new winter styles in cloak sleeves I will promise you a one-in-five chance for her, instead of one in ten.After the doctor had gon

32、e Sue went into the workroom and cried a Japanese napkin to a pulp. Then she swaggered into Johnsys room with her drawing board, whistling ragtime.Johnsy lay, scarcely making a ripple under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window. Sue stopped whistling, thinking she was asleep.She arranged h

33、er board and began a pen-and-ink drawing to illustrate a magazine story. Young artists must pave their way to Art by drawing pictures for magazine stories that young authors write to pave their way to Literature.As Sue was sketching a pair of elegant horseshow riding trousers and a monocle of the fi

34、gure of the hero, an Idaho cowboy, she heard a low sound, several times repeated. She went quickly to the bedside.Johnsys eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting - counting backward.Twelve, she said, and little later eleven; and then ten, and nine; and then eight and seven,

35、almost together.Sue look solicitously out of the window. What was there to count? There was only a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick house twenty feet away. An old, old ivy vine, gnarled and decayed at the roots, climbed half way up the brick wall. The cold breath of autu

36、mn had stricken its leaves from the vine until its skeleton branches clung, almost bare, to the crumbling bricks.What is it, dear? asked Sue.Six, said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. Theyre falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache to count them. But now its e

37、asy. There goes another one. There are only five left now.Five what, dear? Tell your Sudie.Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too. Ive known that for three days. Didnt the doctor tell you?Oh, I never heard of such nonsense, complained Sue, with magnificent scorn. What have o

38、ld ivy leaves to do with your getting well? And you used to love that vine so, you naughty girl. Dont be a goosey. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were - lets see exactly what he said - he said the chances were ten to one! Why, thats almost as good a

39、 chance as we have in New York when we ride on the street cars or walk past a new building. Try to take some broth now, and let Sudie go back to her drawing, so she can sell the editor man with it, and buy port wine for her sick child, and pork chops for her greedy self.You neednt get any more wine,

40、 said Johnsy, keeping her eyes fixed out the window. There goes another. No, I dont want any broth. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then Ill go, too.Johnsy, dear, said Sue, bending over her, will you promise me to keep your eyes closed, and not look out th

41、e window until I am done working? I must hand those drawings in by to-morrow. I need the light, or I would draw the shade down.Couldnt you draw in the other room? asked Johnsy, coldly.Id rather be here by you, said Sue. Beside, I dont want you to keep looking at those silly ivy leaves.Tell me as soo

42、n as you have finished, said Johnsy, closing her eyes, and lying white and still as fallen statue, because I want to see the last one fall. Im tired of waiting. Im tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves.Try

43、to sleep, said Sue. I must call Behrman up to be my model for the old hermit miner. Ill not be gone a minute. Dont try to move til I come back.Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor beneath them. He was past sixty and had a Michael Angelos Moses beard curling down from the head of a

44、 satyr along with the body of an imp. Behrman was a failure in art. Forty years he had wielded the brush without getting near enough to touch the hem of his Mistresss robe. He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it. For several years he had painted nothing except no

45、w and then a daub in the line of commerce or advertising. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little old man, who

46、scoffed terribly at softness in any one, and who regarded himself as especial mastiff-in-waiting to protect the two young artists in the studio above.Sue found Behrman smelling strongly of juniper berries in his dimly lighted den below. In one corner was a blank canvas on an easel that had been wait

47、ing there for twenty-five years to receive the first line of the masterpiece. She told him of Johnsys fancy, and how she feared she would, indeed, light and fragile as a leaf herself, float away, when her slight hold upon the world grew weaker.Old Behrman, with his red eyes plainly streaming, shoute

48、d his contempt and derision for such idiotic imaginings.Vass! he cried. Is dere people in the world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey drop off from a confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead. Vy do you allow dot silly

49、 pusiness to come in der brain of her? Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Yohnsy.She is very ill and weak, said Sue, and the fever has left her mind morbid and full of strange fancies. Very well, Mr. Behrman, if you do not care to pose for me, you neednt. But I think you are a horrid old - old flibbertigibbe

50、t.You are just like a woman! yelled Behrman. Who said I will not bose? Go on. I come mit you. For half an hour I haf peen trying to say dot I am ready to bose. Gott! dis is not any blace in which one so goot as Miss Yohnsy shall lie sick. Some day I vill baint a masterpiece, and ve shall all go away

51、. Gott! yes.Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down to the window-sill, and motioned Behrman into the other room. In there they peered out the window fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they looked at each other for a moment without speaking. A persistent, cold rain was fa

52、lling, mingled with snow. Behrman, in his old blue shirt, took his seat as the hermit miner on an upturned kettle for a rock.When Sue awoke from an hours sleep the next morning she found Johnsy with dull,wide-open eyes staring at the drawn green shade.Pull it up; I want to see, she ordered, in a whi

53、sper.Wearily Sue obeyed.But, lo! after the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had endured through the livelong night, there yet stood out against the brick wall one ivy leaf. It was the last one on the vine. Still dark green near its stem, with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of di

54、ssolution and decay, it hung bravely from the branch some twenty feet above the ground.It is the last one, said Johnsy. I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall to-day, and I shall die at the same time.Dear, dear! said Sue, leaning her worn face down to the pil

55、low, think of me, if you wont think of yourself. What would I do?But Johnsy did not answer. The lonesomest thing in all the world is a soul when it is making ready to go on its mysterious, far journey. The fancy seemed to possess her more strongly as one by one the ties that bound her to friendship

56、and to earth were loosed.The day wore away, and even through the twilight they could see the lone ivy leaf clinging to its stem against the wall. And then, with the coming of the night the north wind was again loosed, while the rain still beat against the windows and pattered down from the low Dutch

57、 eaves.When it was light enough Johnsy, the merciless, commanded that the shade be raised.The ivy leaf was still there.Johnsy lay for a long time looking at it. And then she called to Sue, who was stirring her chicken broth over the gas stove.Ive been a bad girl, Sudie, said Johnsy. Something has ma

58、de that last leaf stay there to show me how wicked I was. It is a sin to want to die. You may bring a me a little broth now, and some milk with a little port in it, and - no; bring me a hand-mirror first, and then pack some pillows about me, and I will sit up and watch you cook.And hour later she sa

59、id:Sudie, some day I hope to paint the Bay of Naples.The doctor came in the afternoon, and Sue had an excuse to go into the hallway as he left.Even chances, said the doctor, taking Sues thin, shaking hand in his. With good nursing youll win. And now I must see another case I have downstairs. Behrman

60、, his name is - some kind of an artist, I believe. Pneumonia, too. He is an old, weak man, and the attack is acute. There is no hope for him; but he goes to the hospital to-day to be made more comfortable.The next day the doctor said to Sue: Shes out of danger. You won. Nutrition and care now - that

61、s all.And that afternoon Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay, contentedly knitting a very blue and very useless woollen shoulder scarf, and put one arm around her, pillows and all.I have something to tell you, white mouse, she said. Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia to-day in the hospital. He was ill o

62、nly two days. The janitor found him the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold. They couldnt imagine where he had been on such a dreadful night. And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been

63、dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colours mixed on it, and - look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didnt you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, its Behrmans masterpiece - he painted it t

64、here the night that the last leaf fell.4作品赏析编辑因这我想看到最后一片叶子掉下来，我等得不耐烦了，也想得不耐烦了，我想摆脱一切 飘下去，飘下去，像一片可怜的，疲倦了的叶子那样。一一引自最后一片叶子为什么要放弃？自己的命运就得自己来主宰;这世上的每一个生命都有权力活出自己的 精彩；就把自己当作一个勇士，任何的惊险，都要去尝试；在每一次失落、失败后，都要勇 敢地站起来！要对自己的未来负责，不需要别人来画上那一片叶子，让我们自己对自己说： 永远都不放弃，在任何时刻！贝尔门，一个伟大的画家。虽然他的大半生都穷困潦倒，走得是一条失败之路。但他始终有个响亮的目标一一画一幅“伟大的杰作”。四十年，他都没有因自己的失败而放弃作画， 他一直等待着时机。与把自己的生命寄托于一片飘摇的叶子琼西相比，贝尔门更像一个失败的英雄。面对他， 和他用生命画成的“杰作”，我们任何人都不得不肃然起敬。然而，如果冷静地思考一下， 像贝尔门这样几乎盲目的执着却并非可取。若没有最后的偶然，他将是一个彻头彻尾的可怜 虫。在这个世界上，物竞天择，适者生存，既然他在画画方面没有什么天赋，不可能有更大 的发展，那就应该明智些，在活下来的前提下，更换一种新的生存方式，努力使自己活得 更出色，而不必拘泥于那没有发