By+Anonymous

A t first glance she looked like any other old woman， plodding along in the snow， alone， neglected， head bowed. People passing on the busy city sidewalk averted their eyes， lest sheremind themthatpain and suffering did not stop to celebrate Christmas.

A young couple， smiling， talking， laughing， arms loaded with Christmas presents， took no notice of the old woman. A mother with two small children hurried by， on their way to grandmothers house. They took no notice. If these people had noticed， they would have seen that the old woman wore no shoes. Shewalkedbarefootintheiceandsnow.

With both hands the old woman gathered her worn button-less overcoat at the collar to keep out the wind. She stopped and stood bent and bowed at the bus stop. A red and bluescarfcoveringherhead，shewaitedforthedowntownbus.

A gentleman carrying an important looking briefcase waited near her， not too closely. After all， she could have somethingcontagious. A teenage girl also waited for the bus. She glancedrepeatedlyattheoldwomansfeet，butsaidnothing.

The bus arrived and the old woman slowly， painfully boarded. Shesaton thesideways seat just behind the driver. The gentlemanandtheteenagegirlhurriedtotherear.

A little boy pointed at the old woman.“Look， Mother， that old lady is barefoot.”The embarrassed mother slapped his hand down.“Dont point at people， Andrew. Its not polite to point.”Shelookedoutthewindow.

“She must have grown children，”a lady in a fur coat suggested.“Her children should be ashamed of themselves.”She felt morally superior， because she took good care of her mother.

A teacher seated near the middle of the bus steadied the bag of gifts on her lap.“Dont we pay enough taxes to handle situationslikethis？”shesaidtoafriendseatedbesideher.

“People have to learn to save their money，”a well-dressed youngcollegemanadded.“Ifthatoldwomanhadsavedwhenshe wasyoung，shewouldntbesufferingnow.Itsherownfault.”

And all these people beamed with satisfaction that their acumenhaddeliveredsuchtrenchantanalysis.

But， a kind businessman felt offended by this murmuring detachment of his fellow citizens. He reached into his wallet and took out a crisp twenty-dollar bill. He strode proudly down the aisle and pressed the bill into the old womans unsteady， wrinkled hand.“Here， Madam， get yourself some shoes.”The old woman nodded her head in thanks. The businessman strode back to his seat， feeling pleased with himself， that he was a man ofaction.endprint

At the next stop， a young man boarded the bus. He wore a heavy blue jacket， a maroon scarf around his neck， and a gray woolen cap pulled down over his ears. A wire running under the cap and into his ear was connected to a Walkman. The young man jiggled his body in time to music only he heard. He paid his fare and plopped down on the sideways seat directly across from theoldwoman.

As the young mans glance caught the old womans bare feet， hisjigglingstopped. He froze. His eyes went from her feet to his. He wore his expensive， new， brand-name sneakers. The young man bent down and began to untie his sneakers. He removed his impressive new sneakers. He removed his socks. He knelt down before the old woman.“Mother，”he said，“I see you have no shoes. Well， I have shoes.”Carefully， gently， he lifted the old womans crusty feet in his hands. He placed his socks and his fine sneakers on the old womans feet. The old womannoddedinthanks.

Just then the bus arrived at the next stop. The young man leftthebusandwalkedaway，barefootinthesnow.

The passengers crowded at the windows to watch him as he plodded barefoot through the snow.“Who is he？”one asked.“He must be a prophet，”said another.“He must be a saint，”someonesuggested.“Hemustbeanangel，”saidyetanother.But the little boy who had pointed， said，“No， Mother， I saw him clearly.Hewasonlyaman.”

乍一看，她只是個尋常老嫗，在雪中踽踽獨行。人們走過這繁忙的都市人行道，移開自己的目光，以免她提醒他們痛苦和不幸并沒有因為圣誕節(jié)而停下腳步。

一對年輕的夫婦談笑風(fēng)生，抱著滿懷的圣誕禮物，他們沒有注意到那位老婦人。一位母親領(lǐng)著兩個小孩子，在前往孩子祖母家的路上匆匆走過，他們也沒注意到老婦人。如果這些人注意一下，他們就會發(fā)現(xiàn)那個老婦人沒有穿鞋，光著腳走在冰天雪地里。

她雙手緊攥著沒有紐扣、破舊不堪的外套衣領(lǐng)以抵御寒風(fēng)。到了汽車站，她停了下來，弓腰駝背，紅藍相間的圍巾裹在頭上。她在等候去市中心的公交車。

一位紳士拿著一個看起來挺重要的公文包，在她邊上等車，不敢靠得太近。畢竟，她可能會有某種傳染病。一個十幾歲模樣的女孩也在等車，她看了好幾次老婦人的腳，但沒有吱聲。

公交車來了，老婦人慢吞吞地、費勁地上了車，坐在司機身后靠邊的座位上。紳士和女孩都沖到了車尾。

一個小男孩指著那個老婦人說：“快看呀，媽媽，那個老奶奶光著腳！”尷尬的母親把他的手拍了下來：“不要指著別人，安德魯，那樣不禮貌?！苯又哪抗馔断蛄舜巴?。

“她肯定有成年的子女。”一位穿著皮大衣的女士說，“她的孩子們該為自己的行為感到羞恥?！彼幸环N道德優(yōu)越感，因為她把自己的母親照顧得很好。

一名老師坐在汽車的中部，扶著她膝上的禮物袋?！半y道我們交的稅還不夠處理這種情況嗎？”她對坐在她旁邊的朋友說。

“人們應(yīng)該學(xué)會存錢。”一個衣著得體的年輕大學(xué)生補充說，“如果她在年輕的時候存了錢，現(xiàn)在就不會受苦了，這是她自己的錯?！?/p>

所有人都露出了滿意的微笑，因為他們都發(fā)表了如此精辟的觀點。

然而，這些同胞的喋喋不休與漠不關(guān)心引起了一位善良商人的反感。他從錢包里取出一張嶄新的20美元鈔票，走過過道，上前塞進老婦人顫巍巍、滿是皺紋的手中。“拿著，夫人，給你自己買雙鞋。”老婦人點點頭作為答謝。商人大踏步地走回自己的座位，對自己十分滿意，因為他不是一個光說不做的人。

到了下一站，一個年輕人上了車，他穿著一件厚重的藍夾克，脖子上還圍著一條絳紫色的圍巾，灰色的羊毛帽罩住了耳朵。一根線從他的帽子下繞到耳朵里，與一個隨身聽連著，他的身體隨著只有他自己能聽到的音樂搖擺。付過車費后，他一屁股坐在一個靠過道的座位上，正好與老婦人斜對角。

當(dāng)年輕人瞥見老婦人光著的雙腳時，他身體立刻停止了晃動，一下子僵住了。他的目光從老婦人的腳移到了自己的腳上，他穿著一雙嶄新的、昂貴的名牌運動鞋。年輕人彎下腰，開始解他的鞋帶。他脫掉了他搶眼的新鞋子，又脫掉了襪子，然后在老婦人面前跪了下來?！按髬專彼f，“我看見你沒有鞋，那把我的鞋給你?！甭?，輕輕地，他雙手抬起老婦人那長著厚繭的雙腳，把自己的鞋襪給老婦人穿上。老婦人點點頭表示感謝。

此時汽車又到了一站。年輕人下了車，光著腳走在雪地里。

乘客都涌到窗前，看他光腳艱難地在雪地里走遠。“他是誰？”一個人問道?！八欢ㄊ且晃幌戎?。”一個人說。“他一定是個圣人。”另一個人說?！八欢ㄊ俏惶焓??！庇钟幸蝗苏f。但那個指過老婦人的小男孩說：“不，媽媽，我看得很清楚，他只是一個普通人。”endprint