第9部分(第5/6 頁)

n　her　wavy　hair。　I　wished　the　moment　would　never　end；　but　no　song　lasts　forever。　I　promised　myself　that　when　I　had　a　daughter　I　would　sing　to　her　as　long　as　she　wanted。

I　never　forgot　that　promise。　When　my　husband　and　I　brought　our　long…awaited　baby　daughter；　Tessa；　home　from　China　at　the　age　of　eleven　months；　I　was　ready。　On　our　first　night　together　at　home；　I　held　her　across　my　lap　in　our　big　oak　rocking　chair　and　sang　the　familiar　lullabies　I　had　waited　so　long　to　sing：“Rock…a…Bye；　Baby；”“Twinkle； Twinkle；　Little　Star；　”and“Hush；　Little　Baby。　”　I　sang　all　seven　verses　of“Hush；　Little　Baby；　”which　I　had　painstakingly　memorized　in　preparation　for　the　occasion。

When　I　had　finished　singing。　Tessa　wasn’t　quite　asleep；　but　she　looked　drowsy。　I　rose　and　headed　toward　the　crib　to　lay　her　down；　but　she　immediately　sat　up　and　started　to　fuss。　Okay；　I　thought；　she　needs　a　little　more　time；　So　I　sat　back　down　and　sang　the　lullabies　again；　waiting　for　her　eyes　to　close。　They　didn’t。　I　sang　my　songs　one　more　time；　throwing　in“The　Alphabet　Song”　for　good　measure；　until　finally　she　seemed　to　be　asleep。　I　laid　her　in　the　crib　and　turned　to　leave。　Then　I　hit　a　squeaky　floorboard。 Tessa’s　little　head　popped　up；　and　she　began　to　wail。

一段小夜曲（3）

When　I　had　vowed　that　my　child　would　get　as　many　bedtime　songs　as　she　wanted； I　hadn’t　counted　on　this　particular　child’s　determination。　Perhaps；　having　waited　so　long　for　a　family　of　her　own。　she　didn’t　want　to　let　me　go　that　easily。　And　I　couldn’t　bear　to　allow　a　child　who　had　so　recently　left　the　orphanage　to　cry　herself　to　sleep。

But　I　was　quickly　growing　tired　of　the　songs　I　had　previously　been　so　eager　to　sing。 Tedium　isn’t　necessarily　a　liability　in　a　lullaby—it　is　possible　to　bore　a　child　to　sleep—but