一在东苏门答腊的一小小市镇外,紧挨着一家橡胶和烟草种植园,有一个小小的打铁铺。一次不幸的遭遇把我带到了那里。那时我才十六岁,还是一个文盲。我正急着要找个活干,于是便恳求铁匠收留我做徒工。铁匠是个中等身材的人,不象我见过的一般铁匠那样身强力壮。他满脸都是落腮胡子,尽管他年纪并不很大。也许是因为我年纪小,求事心切,我带着一副可怜相向他苦苦哀求。这使他有点恼火。他用严峻的目光瞅了我一眼,生气地说:“你这个人怎么动不动就哭哭啼啼?象你这样一个年轻人应该有自 In a small town in East Sumatera, next to a rubber and tobacco plantation, there is a small blacksmith shop. An unfortunate encounter took me there. At that time I was sixteen years old and still illiterate. I was anxious to find a job, so I begged blacksmith to take me as a disciple. Blacksmith is a medium-sized man, not as strong as the average blacksmith I’ve ever seen. He had beards on his face, though he was not very old. Maybe because I was young and begged, I begged with a poor hand. This made him a bit annoyed. He glanced at me with grim glances and said angrily: ”How often do you cry and cry like a young man like yours?