缘起
Where the Idea Came From

大约二十年前就想为儿子写本书了，无奈罹患“拖延症”，直到今日才“大病初愈”，正所谓“心动不如行动”，说干就干，否则一直拖下去的话，永远也写不出来。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.

下笔前，我给自己出了道选择题。I had a choice when I was contemplating what to put in the book that I was going to write. 我可以编一个故事，安排几个虚构的人物（例如小威、小敏之类的），说说这些人的家长里短。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. 我也可以说说我自己的故事。Or I could tell the story of my own life. 我思前想后，踌躇良久，最后决定：还是说自己的故事吧。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，这本书的内容，纯属杂七杂八的凡人小事，所述故事均本人亲身经历，跟漫提显要或疗伤宣泄的高大上“自传”扯不上关系，因为我既非名人亦非“牛人”，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.

与多数年届半百的同龄人一样，我的故事很多，若要塞到一本书里，不说别的，光是装订就会成问题，所以必须有所侧重。本书主要搜罗我和动物小伙伴们的故事，夹杂跑龙套的人类角色若干……哦，还时不时跑跑题。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. 但无论跑题跑得多远，有个原则不会改变：书中每一个故事，以及每个故事的每个细节，都真实不虚，绝无添油加醋之处，记忆力远在我之上的母亲，还对这些细节一一确认、更正、补充了。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. 窃以为，真实的故事更有感染力，天花乱坠只是过眼浮云。Personally, I find more charm in a true story faithfully told than in some embellished half-truths rattling with bells and whistles ad nauseam.