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The sense of being the owner of the small patch of earth offered a small taste of freedom.
作为一小片土地的主人我感受到一丝自由。
In some ways, I saw the garden as a metaphor for certain aspects of my life. Leaders must also look after their gardens; they, too, plant seeds, and then watch, cultivate, and harvest the results. Like gardeners, leaders must take responsibility for what they cultivate; they must mind their work, try to drive back enemies, save what can be saved, and eliminate what can not succeed.
在某些方面，我把这个菜园当作自己生活中某些方面的写照。领袖人物也必须照料他们的菜园；他们也一样要播种，然后看管、培育、收获果实。像园丁一样，领袖们也必须为他们培育的一切负上责任；他们必须致力于自己的工作，努力击退敌人，挽救所能挽救的一切，并去除不能取得成功的事情。
I wrote Winnie two letters about a particularly beautiful tomato plant, how I made it grow from a tender seedling to a strong plant that produced deep red fruit. But then, either through some mistake or lack of care, the plant began to wither and decline and nothing I did would bring it back to health. When it finally died, I removed the roots from the soil, washed them, and buried them in a corner of the garden.
在写给温妮的两封信中我讲述了一株非常美丽的番茄，告诉她我是怎样把它从一 棵娇嫩的幼苗培养成结出深红色果实的强壮的植物。但是后来，也许是因为出了什么错，也许是因为缺少照料，这棵番茄开始枯萎、凋谢，而我无论做什么都无法挽救它了。当它最终死去的时候，我把它的根从土中挖了出来，洗干净后埋在了菜园的一角。
I told her this small story at great length. I do not know what she read into that letter, but when I wrote it I had a mixture of feelings. I did not want our relationship to go the way of that plant, and yet I felt that I had been unable to nourish many of the most important relationships in my life. Sometimes there is nothing one can do to save something that must die.
我用了很长的篇幅给她讲了这个小故事。至于她从那封信中体会到了什么言外之意，我不得而知，但我当时是怀着非常复杂的心情来写这封信的。我不希望我们之间的关系像那株植物一样枯萎了，然而我感觉到我已不能维持我生活中许多最为重要的关系。有时，注定要逝去的东西任凭你怎么设法挽救都是徒劳的。
