緣起
Where the Idea Came From

大約二十年前就想為兒子寫本書了，無奈罹患“拖延癥”，直到今日才“大病初愈”，正所謂“心動(dòng)不如行動(dòng)”，說干就干，否則一直拖下去的話，永遠(yuǎn)也寫不出來。For a good 20 years, I kept telling myself that I should write a book for my son. But I came down with a dreaded lurgy called procrastination. I've only just recovered from it. What's that saying? ‘Better late than never.’ That's true. I could do worse than start now, however late this now may be.

下筆前，我給自己出了道選擇題。I had a choice when I was contemplating what to put in the book that I was going to write. 我可以編一個(gè)故事，安排幾個(gè)虛構(gòu)的人物（例如小威、小敏之類的），說說這些人的家長(zhǎng)里短。I could make up a story that would feature a number of fictitious characters（by such names as Willie and Minnie）going about their lives in fabricated settings. 我也可以說說我自己的故事。Or I could tell the story of my own life. 我思前想后，躊躇良久，最后決定：還是說自己的故事吧。I turned it over and over in my mind. After much humming and hawing, I came to a decision: to tell my own story. 因此，這本書的內(nèi)容，純屬雜七雜八的凡人小事，所述故事均本人親身經(jīng)歷，跟漫提顯要或療傷宣泄的高大上“自傳”扯不上關(guān)系，因?yàn)槲壹确敲艘喾恰芭Ｈ恕?，唯有自知之明。It was to be a compilation of petty anecdotes culled from an average joe's bag of real-life experience. It would not purport to be some high-brow autobiography replete with nonchalant name-dropping or therapeutic catharsis, which requires either sufficient celebrity/notoriety or, in the absence of same, sufficient hubris/vainglory. I have neither. That much I know.

與多數(shù)年屆半百的同齡人一樣，我的故事很多，若要塞到一本書里，不說別的，光是裝訂就會(huì)成問題，所以必須有所側(cè)重。本書主要搜羅我和動(dòng)物小伙伴們的故事，夾雜跑龍?zhí)椎娜祟惤巧舾伞?，還時(shí)不時(shí)跑跑題。I have lived through half a century. Most people at my age would have tons of stories to tell about themselves. I am no exception. If I were to fit them all into one book, it would be nothing short of an oversized tome bursting at the seams. For this reason, I think I'm better off focusing on stories of me and a motley crew of animal pals for now, supported by an eclectic lineup of human cameos... drifting inadvertently to unpremeditated tangential topics from time to time. 但無論跑題跑得多遠(yuǎn)，有個(gè)原則不會(huì)改變：書中每一個(gè)故事，以及每個(gè)故事的每個(gè)細(xì)節(jié)，都真實(shí)不虛，絕無添油加醋之處，記憶力遠(yuǎn)在我之上的母親，還對(duì)這些細(xì)節(jié)一一確認(rèn)、更正、補(bǔ)充了。Drifting notwithstanding, I am proud to vouch for the veracity of each and every story related in this book, down to minute details, all of which have been double-checked and verified by someone blessed with an eidetic memory, i.e. my mother. 竊以為，真實(shí)的故事更有感染力，天花亂墜只是過眼浮云。Personally, I find more charm in a true story faithfully told than in some embellished half-truths rattling with bells and whistles ad nauseam.