English Original
"Mom, you should put some of your things away. Baby proof this house," stated our oldest son Mark as he lumbered up the stairs followed by his wife, Kim, and fifteen-month-old Hannah.
Visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday, he finished unloading the luggage. After driving all day, his temper showed. "That one finger rule may work with the twins, but it'll never work with Hannah," he insisted.
When my three granddaughters were born, a close friend shared her secret: "Teach them the 'one finger rule'." All of her five grandchildren learned it young. The method's success surprised me.
I picked up Hannah and said, "Well, Mark, you just watch." I hugged her and walked around the room.
"Hannah, you may touch anything in this room you want. But, you can only use one finger." I demonstrated by touching my forefinger to an African sculpture on the mantle. Hannah followed my example. "Good girl. Now what else would you like to touch?"
She stretched her finger toward another object. I allowed her to touch everything in sight—plants, glass, the TV, lamps. If she started to grab, I gently reminded her. She always obeyed. Hannah, an only child, possessed a more adventurous spirit. Her father predicted this would prevent her from accepting the rule.
During their four-day stay, we helped Hannah remember. She learned quickly. I only put away genuinely dangerous items. We watched her closely, and nothing was damaged. Besides, "things" can be replaced.
A few fingerprints remained on glass after they left. I couldn't bring myself to clean them for days. Each one reminded me of a wonderful moment with Hannah.
Months later, we visited them in Salt Lake. I watched Mark and Kim continue to practice the rule. I refrained from saying, "I told you so," but smiled inwardly each time they prodded Hannah. Mark, a salesman, was preparing gift packets for clients. Hannah helped.
Then she picked up one gift, held it as if it were a fragile bird, and walked to me. At my knee, her beautiful blue eyes looked into mine. She stretched her prize to me and said, "One finger, Nana!"
中文翻译
"妈，你应该把你的一些东西收起来。把房子弄得对孩子安全些，"我们的大儿子马克一边说着，一边笨重地走上楼梯，身后跟着他的妻子金和他们十五个月大的女儿汉娜。
他们是来过感恩节的。卸完行李后，开了整整一天车的马克显得有些烦躁。他坚持说："那个‘一指规则’对双胞胎可能管用，但对汉娜绝对没用。"
当我的三个孙女相继出生后，一位密友分享了她的秘诀："教他们‘一指规则’。"她的五个孙子孙女都在很小的时候就学会了。这个方法的效果让我惊讶。
我抱起汉娜，对马克说："好吧，马克，你看着。"我搂着她，在客厅里走了一圈。
"汉娜，这个房间里的任何东西你都可以摸。但是，你只能用一根手指。"我做了示范，用食指碰了碰壁炉架上的非洲雕塑。汉娜跟着学。"好孩子。现在你还想摸什么？"
她把手指伸向架子上的另一件物品。我允许她触摸视线内的一切——植物、玻璃制品、电视、灯具。如果她开始想抓握，我就轻声提醒她。她总是很听话。汉娜是独生女，性格更爱冒险。她的父亲曾预言这会使她无法接受这个规则。
在他们停留的四天里，我们帮助汉娜记住这个规则。她学得很快。我只收起了真正有危险的物品。我们密切看护着她，没有任何东西受损。况且，"物品"是可以替换的。
他们离开后，玻璃门窗和桌子上留下了一些指纹。我好几天都舍不得擦掉。每一个指纹都让我想起和汉娜共度的美好时光。
几个月后，我们开车去盐湖城看望他们。我看到马克和金仍在继续实践这个规则。我忍住没说"我早就告诉过你"，但每次他们督促汉娜用"一根手指"时，我心里都暗自微笑。马克是销售员，正在为潜在客户准备礼物包。汉娜在帮忙。
然后，她拿起一份礼物，像捧着一只脆弱的小鸟一样捧在手里，朝我走来。她来到我膝前，美丽的蓝眼睛望着我。她把她的"战利品"递给我，说道："一根手指，奶奶！"