Bird of Happiness: A Collection of Gems from the Translation Sea

Author: Zhang Qiliang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: At the Itzaron Air Base on the Sinai Peninsula, eight American-made newly F-16 fighter jets are parked, each carrying two 2,000-pound bombs, totaling 16 tons of TNT, along with six F-15 fighter jets with a speed of 921 miles per hour. At exactly 4 p.m., the pilots take off into the azure sky, flying stealthily toward the target. Under the wings of the F-16s are several "Sidewinder" missiles, while under the bodies of the F-15s, in addition to being equipped with "Rapier" missiles, there are several fuel tanks to facilitate in-flight refueling. The 90-minute flight to the airspace above Baghdad was extremely tense. When they flew over Jordan and Saudi Arabia, it was indeed because the flight formation was tight that Jordan's radar actually thought it was a transport plane passing through. When the ground control tower officials asked the pilots in Arabic for their identities, the Israeli pilots replied fluently in Arabic that they were Jordanian transport planes, and thus they slipped through easily. At 5:30 p.m., the planes arrived 12 miles southeast of Baghdad and spotted the target—the reactor surrounded on three sides by a horseshoe-shaped thick earthen wall, with anti-aircraft machine guns and surface-to-air missile shelters on the wall. The day Israel chose was clear, although it was nearing dusk, the afterglow of the sunset was enough for the pilots to aim at the target accurately. However, the sun set very quickly, and fog soon appeared over Baghdad. At this moment, the eight F-16 fighter jets aimed at the target and dropped the evil bombs, with all 16 tons of TNT hitting the reactor. At that time, a French technician resting in a nearby café witnessed this operation. After the fact, he said, "The accuracy of the bombing was truly astonishing." Experts at the Pentagon studied satellite photos and said that Israel may have equipped the bombs with precise guidance warheads. This raid tore off the thin-shell roof of the reactor and loosened its foundation, leaving even the two attached buildings untouched. The reactor, purchased by Iraq for 275 million U.S. dollars from France, was reduced to ashes in just two minutes. During the raid, the pilots made a television recording to bring back to Begin as a trophy. The recording shows the bombs penetrating the reactor's secret factory and drilling down about 12 feet. Israel chose Sunday because they considered that the reactor had two hundred French and Italian technicians who were off on that day. However, this intelligence was wrong. Sunday was actually their workday, but they were temporarily off that day due to a malfunction. That's why the two hundred foreign technicians were spared. The F-15 pilots watched the several military airports around Baghdad, but not a single Iraqi fighter jet took off to intercept them, and the Soviet-made SMA-6 surface-to-air missiles showed no reaction at all. Only a few anti-aircraft machine guns fired sporadically, but not a single bullet hit the planes. Although the explosion was deafening, most Iraqis didn't know what had happened until the next day, and even the Iraqi diplomats were kept in the dark. An hour after the raid, foreign diplomats were still gathered on the lawn of the Italian embassy for Italy's national day celebration, while the Israeli planes had already slipped away. At 7 p.m., when Begin learned from the phone that the "Babylon Operation" had been successfully completed, a smug grin spread across his face. However, he couldn't have smiled too early, as Israel's aggressive actions provoked the righteous indignation of people around the world and led the Arab people to unite more closely in their struggle. Arab leaders later met in Iraq and strongly demanded that the United Nations impose sanctions on Israel to stop its aggressive expansion.
Jack Lynch was born in Illinois, USA. His lifestyle was unconventional, and his way of thinking was somewhat eccentric. During World War II, he served in the military as a brave demolition expert. Later, he joined the Air Force and became an outstanding pilot, often flying over vast, smoke-filled uninhabited areas. Afterward, he went on a trek to Mexico to explore gold mines. After years of wandering, he finally found a job at a construction company in Milwaukee and settled down. However, he was always restless. Seeking excitement, he began training hunting dogs and often took them to participate in dog-sled races. One day, he came across an article in a magazine about Dr. Macquarie adopting a pack of purebred Lobo wolves in Pennsylvania. On a farm in Keene, Dr. Macquarie had built dens and enclosures for the wolves and was caring for them. Reading this, Lynch couldn't sit still and drove straight to Keene. Dr. Macquarie was already 93 years old. When Lynch met him, he was in his twilight years, suffering from poverty and illness. He said anxiously to Lynch, "I'm afraid I won't last much longer. Who will take care of this pack of wolves after I'm gone?" Hearing this, Lynch felt that if he took on this responsibility, his life would undoubtedly become more fulfilling and meaningful. After less than five minutes of conversation, he made his decision. Lynch returned to Milwaukee, sold all his property, quit his job, and bid farewell to his wife, arriving in Pennsylvania the following year. He took over part of Dr. Macquarie's land and bought all 32 wolves from him for $1,000 each. The wolves were bought, and he had the means, but he knew nothing about how wolves lived, especially whether or not interacting with them was dangerous. Three weeks later, while working, he found a 200-pound male wolf named Sapa tearing at the fence with its sharp teeth and had already chewed through a hole. Lynch immediately opened the gate and walked in. He paid no attention to Sapa and went about reinforcing the fence. Suddenly, Sapa lunged forward and knocked him to the ground with his shoulder blades, then dragged him along the fence in a frenzy. Lynch was terrified, his face as pale as death, and kept pleading, "Don't, don't do this—let me go—I promise to give you something good next time." Before he could finish, he blacked out. A few minutes later, he woke up to find himself outside the fence. This time, Sapa let him go. Taking a deep breath, he ran to Dr. Macquarie and recounted the ordeal in detail, then said, "It seems Sapa didn't really mean to hurt me. He was just testing my strength and seeing what kind of person I was and what I would do for them." But even saying that, he still felt a chill when he thought about the frightening scene. Dr. Macquarie, however, said after hearing this, "Good job. It seems you're the perfect person to take over from me."
With great dedication, about three months later, one noon, Lynch's 32 wolves suddenly howled with fierce and mournful cries. The howls lasted for about 20 minutes, so terrifying and sorrowful. Lynch was greatly astonished and found it hard to believe: the wolves were howling because Dr. Macquarie had died! For years, he had been doing the work of several people alone—driving stakes, building fences, digging, cleaning, and even treating the wolves. The most challenging problem for him was food scarcity. On average, each wolf needed at least 35 to 40 pounds of meat per week. Due to his limited funds, he had to travel around, begging for food. He often went without food, scavenging at slaughterhouses and farms, collecting leftovers and even scraps. He also frequently picked up animals hit by cars along the highways. He had to bring back at least a ton of meat every week. Year after year, Lynch left the bustling city, abandoned his comfortable life, and endured hardships and difficulties. Later, his wife demanded a divorce, and creditors pressed him for payment, leaving him exhausted and heartbroken. Yet he remained firm in his mission and endured all this with patience and resilience. Today, Lynch is the guardian of the wolves, known as "the only unique source of wild wolves in the nation" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as their only pillar, messenger, and protector. Nine years ago, to find a more suitable wildlife refuge, Lynch moved the wolves from Pennsylvania to Washington State. He chose a forested area on the Olympic Peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides, with a pleasant climate and more abundant food sources than before. He built spacious new dens and enclosures for the wolves. In this well-crafted environment, they thrived, growing strong and healthy. Soon, they also had a litter of pups. These things show that Lynch loves his work, is imaginative, and is deeply committed.
Every wolf has its own personality
One morning, Jackson accompanied Lynch to inspect the wolf pack. They entered the 10-acre enclosure, covered in shrubs, and began walking along the central path. The wolves, seeing people, leaped out of the dense forest and orderly entered the enclosures separated by fences. Lynch moved freely in and out of the wolf pens. He would stroke one wolf's back, then groom the sparse fur on another's face. He played with one wolf, then teased another, half-covered in shadow. An elderly, frail female wolf walked toward them with a slight limp, her legs stiff due to arthritis. Lynch went up and gently massaged her hind legs. Then he said to Jackson, "Every wolf has its own personality, so you have to treat them differently." He told Jackson that once, a 180-pound alpha Lobo wolf had fought with him, and in the end, he had to use force and a stick to subdue it. Wolves can sometimes be obedient because they are inherently disciplined animals. But they can also be dangerous, especially when they feel humiliated, and may harm humans. Lynch had experienced this firsthand. He had been bitten by wolves six or seven times. Each time, it was because of his impatience and violation of their unspoken rules. Yet it was through paying this price that Lynch had learned to understand the temperament and personality of each wolf, allowing him to dominate and control them.
Archaeologists have found that wild pandas have a history of 3 million years. According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, pandas are like bears but have black and white fur and can digest steel and iron. From dissections, it has been discovered that pandas are also carnivorous animals, but due to their slow movement, they cannot catch other animals and can only survive by eating bamboo. Their large bodies require a lot of nutrition, and bamboo contains 90% water, so pandas spend two-thirds of their day in bamboo forests eating, consuming over 3,400 young bamboo shoots daily. Pandas have sharp teeth and can bite through metal. During a time when large amounts of arrow bamboo died in the Fulongshan Nature Reserve, pandas descended into villages to forage and, in their hunger, even bit an aluminum bowl into small pieces. Pandas usually give birth to only 1-2 cubs at a time. The newborns are as small as mice and cannot open their eyes for a month and cannot walk on the ground until they are 4-5 months old. Before that, they live entirely in their mother's embrace. It is too difficult for a mother panda to raise two cubs, so she often abandons one, leaving it to die naturally. The life expectancy of wild pandas is still unclear. Records show that pandas in zoos can live to be about 30 years old. In a zoo in New York, New York, there is an elephant named Hilly, which is about 3 meters tall and weighs about 3,850 kilograms. It was brought to the U.S. from the jungles of Thailand at the age of 4. At that time, no one in the zoo knew it could paint. Four years later, the zoologist Dr. Doerr occasionally noticed that it sometimes "drew" on the ground with its feet. At night, it used its tusks to hold a pebble and "drew" lines on the ground, which turned out to be its self-portrait when the sun came up. Later, the keepers also noticed that it sometimes used branches to "draw" and "erase" on the ground, and after finishing, it would repeatedly rub its work with its tusks. They brought a large piece of paper and inserted a paintbrush between its tusk and nose. Hilly bit the brush and lowered its gaze, carefully looking at it, and then painted a work on the paper: a pear-shaped pattern made of arcs and sparse lines, resembling the raw pear that the keepers usually fed it.