分享故事 : Love You Forever

書名：Love You Forever
作者：Robert N. Munsch
繪圖：Sheila McGraw
適讀年齡：4~8歲親子共讀
語言版本：英文
出版日期：1986 年 10 月

非常、非常、非常溫馨感人的一本書
貫穿整本書的靈魂中心在於這首感人的歌：

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

據說這首歌是作者Robert N. Munsch為他兩個死去的孩子所寫的
一個男性作家，能以一個簡短的故事來表現出豐沛無邊的母愛
真的是非常值得讚賞與佩服的。

這本書出版至今已有二十年的歲月了
不僅僅是打動每個為人子與為人父母的心
更曾讓無數的父母在為孩子讀這本書時不禁潸然淚下、泣不成聲。

A mother held her new baby and
very slowly rocked him back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth.
And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

一個媽媽抱著她剛出生的小寶寶，
輕輕的把他摟在懷裡，輕輕的搖啊搖，搖啊搖
並且輕輕的唱著……

我永遠愛你，
我永遠疼你，
在媽媽的心裡，
你是我永遠的寶貝。

這是一直被多少初為人母的女性所一再重覆的溫柔舉動
即使孩子漸漸成長，變頑皮、叛逆、直到有了自己的朋友與生活
父母的那份愛卻仍然不曾改變。

儘管白天怎樣的對孩子頑皮舉動所抓狂
面對孩子的無禮、叛逆、以及無意的傷了那顆易感的心
在夜深人靜時，母親仍然對著熟睡中的孩子輕輕的唱著：

我永遠愛你，
我永遠疼你，
在媽媽的心裡，
你是我永遠的寶貝。

Well, that mother, she got older.

She got older and older and older.
One day she called up her son and said,
"You'd better come see me because
I'm very old and sick."
So her son came to see her.
When he came in the door she tried
to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...
But she couldn't finish because she
was too old and sick.

當母親終於又老又病的唱不下去了.......
做孩子的，會反過來輕輕搖著母親唱著：

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

或者就讓為人母的任由她去孤獨終老呢？

這個故事不僅很美，畫風也很寫實。
親子間彼此的關愛情感在Sheila McGraw的繪圖裡一覽無遺
這本書已有二十年歷史了，或許我曾讀過、聽過，但我卻忘記了
可是就在昨晚我拿起它細讀之後，心弦震動的頻率不亞於普羅大眾
我也害怕，在哪一天我決定為哲緯讀這本書時
期望不會是在泣不成聲中草草結束。

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.