We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small Italian town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.
我们站在教堂塔楼的顶上。我不明白为什么父亲要把我带到这个离我们在罗马的家不远的意大利小镇的教堂塔楼上。″Look down,Elsa,″Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross of twisting, turning streets leading to the square.
父亲对我说往下看,埃尔莎。我鼓足勇气向下望去。我看见了村庄中央的广场,还看到了弯曲的街道交错着通向广场。″See, mydear,″Father said gently.″There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can＇t get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.″
父亲和蔼地对我说亲爱的孩子,你明白了吧,通往广场的路不止一条。生活也是如此。假如你走一条路不能到达你想去的地方,就试试另一条路。N ow I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my moth er to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
现在我明白了父亲为什么要带我到这里来。那天早晨我求母亲帮我解决一个难题我不能吃学校为我们提供的午餐,因为它糟透了。但她拒绝了,因为她不相信学校的午餐有我说的那么糟。W hen I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson－－the value of an open, searching mind. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
当我转向父亲,请他帮忙时,他却不愿干涉这件事。相反,他却把我带到这高高的塔楼上,给我上了一课,让我明白了具有开阔的、探索的头脑是多么重要。当我们回到家时,我有了一个计划。A t school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I talked the cook into serving it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered,″The cook must have gonemad！″Quick ly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day！
第二天中午我在学校吃午餐时,偷偷把午餐的汤倒进了一个瓶子里并把瓶子带回家。我说服厨子在吃晚饭的时候把汤端给母亲尝一尝。我的计划非常奏效,母亲喝下一勺汤,立刻就吐了出来。这厨子一定是疯了。我马上告诉了她我所做的事。她很坚决地表示,第二天会去学校提出午餐的问题。I n the years that followed I often remembered the lesson Father taughtme. I knew where I wanted to go in life. I wanted to be a fashion designer.
那以后的岁月里,我时常回忆起父亲给我上的这一课。我知道我该怎样安排我的人生之路。我想成为一名服装设计师。I had come to Paris, the center of the world of fashion, with my sketches. But none of the famous fashion designers seemed interested in buying them. Then one day I met a friend who was wearing a very beautiful sweater. It was plain in color, but it had a lovely and unusual stitch.
我带着自己设计的服装草图来到世界的时装中心———巴黎。但是,似乎没有一个著名的时装设计师有兴趣买下它们。有一天,我遇到一位朋友,她身着一件非常漂亮的毛衣。这件毛衣颜色平常,但却用好看的、不同寻常的编织方法织成。M y friend had an explanation.″The woman－－her name is Mrs. Vidian－－told me she learned the stitch in Armenia, her native country.″
我的朋友解释说那位女士是维迪恩夫人,她是在她的祖国———亚美尼亚学的这种编织方法。S uddenly I pictured a daring design knitted into such a sweater. Then an even more daring idea came tome. Why not open my own house of fashion？Why not design, make and sell clothes－－from the house of Schiaparelli！I would doit, and I would begin with a sweater.
突然,我在这样的毛衣上想象出了一个大胆的图案。然后,我又有了一个更大胆的设想我为什么不自己开个时装店呢？为什么不设计、制作和销售夏巴雷利时装？我要这样做,从毛衣开始。I drew a bold black and white butterfly pattern and took it to Mrs. Vidi anhe knitted it into a sweater. The result, I thought, was wonderful. Then came the test. I wore the sweater to a luncheon which people in the fashion business would attend. To my great pleasure, the sweater was noticed. In fact, the representative of a large New York store wanted40sweaters to be ready in two weeks. I accepted the order and walked out on a cloud of happiness.
我画了一个醒目的黑白相间的蝴蝶样式,然后把它拿给维迪恩夫人看。她把图案织在了一件毛衣上,我认为效果好极了。接着,考验来了。我穿着这件毛衣来到有许多时装界人士参加的午餐聚会上。让我感到十分高兴的是,毛衣引起了其他人的注意。事实上,纽约一家大商店的代理人要求在两周内拿到40件这样的毛衣。我接受了订货,离开时我高兴得有点飘飘然。
M y cloud disappeared suddenly, however, when I stood in front of Mrs. Vidian.″But it took me almost a week to knit that one sweater,″she said.″Forty sweaters in two weeks？It is not possible！″
然而,当我站在维迪恩太太面前时,我的高兴完全消失了。她说那件毛衣我几乎用了一个星期才织好。两周内织40件毛衣,那简直是天方夜谭！I was crushed－－to be so close to success and then to be blocked！Sadly I walked away. All at once I stopped. There must be another way. This stitch did take special skill. But surely there must be other Armenian women in Paris who knew how to doit.
成功近在咫尺,却又受阻,我几乎要垮了。我悲哀地走出维迪恩夫人的家。突然我停住了脚步。我想,肯定会有别的方法。这种针法虽然需要特殊的技巧,但肯定会有其他居住在巴黎的亚美尼亚妇女知道这种针法。W e were like detectives, Mrs. Vidian andI. We put ourselves on the trail of any Armenians who lived in Paris. One friend led us to another. At last we tracked down20women, each of whom could knit the special stitch. Two weeks later the sweaters were finished. And the first shipment from the new house of Schiaparelli was on its way to the United States！
我和维迪恩夫人像侦探似的。我们迫使自己踏上了搜寻住在巴黎的亚美尼亚人的路途。一个朋友把我们带到另一个朋友那里。最后我们找到了20个亚美尼亚妇女,她们都会织这种特殊的针法。两星期后,毛衣织好了,新开业的夏巴雷利时装店的第一批货发往美国。I shall never forget one showing which was really a challenge. Once again Father＇s advice helpedme. I was busy getting ready to show my winter fashions.Then－－just13days before the presentation－－the sewing girls were called out on strike. I found myself left with one tailor and the woman who was in charge of the sewing room！I was as gloomy as my models and salesgirls.″We＇ll never makeit,″one of them cried.
我永远也不会忘记那次服装展览,那真是个挑战。父亲的忠告再次帮了我。那时,我正忙于我的冬季时装展览会。就在服装展览会开幕的13天前,缝纫女工们接受了工会的命令罢工了,只有一个裁缝和一名缝纫车间的主管和我在一起。我和我的模特及女店员们一样沮丧,一个女店员喊道我们肯定不行了！H ere, I thought, is the test of all tests for Father＇s advice. Where is the way out this time？I wondered and worried. I was certain we would have to call off the presentation or else show the clothes unfinished. Then it dawned onme. Why not show the clothes unfinished？We worked at fever pitch. And, exactly13days later, right on time, the Schiaparelli showing took place.
我想,此时是对父亲的忠告最严酷的考验。这次我的出路在哪儿呢？我彷徨而焦虑。我确信,要么取消展览会,要么只能展出未完工的服装。这时,我茅塞顿开我为什么不展览未完工的服装呢？我们紧张地工作着,正好在13天后,夏巴雷利时装展览会准时举行。W hat a showing it was！Some coats had no sleeves；others had only one. Many of our clothes were still in an early stage. They were only patterns made of heavy cotton cloth. But on these we pinned sketches and pieces of material. In this way we were able to show what colors and textures the clothes would have when they were finished.
这是一个怎样的服装展览会啊！有些大衣没有袖子,有些只有一只袖子。许多衣服还在初制阶段,它们只不过是用厚棉布制成的衣服样子罢了。但是,在这些衣服样子上我们别上了衣服的草图和一块块布料。用这种方法,我们能够展示出衣服完成后的颜色和质地。A ll in all, the showing was different. It was so different that it was a great success. Our unusual showing caught the attention of the public, and orders for the clothes pouredin.
总之,这次展览会与众不同。它是那样的与众不同,使我们取得了巨大的成功。这次不同寻常的展览会引起了公众的注意。服装的订单源源不断。F ather＇s wise words had guided me once again. There is more than one way to the square－－always.
父亲那智慧的话语再次指导了我。通往广场的路不止一条———总是这样的。
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