一个冰天雪地的早晨，13岁的小姑娘克蕾斯骑着爱马“朝圣者”外出，不幸遭遇车祸。克蕾斯失去了一条腿，“朝圣者”血肉模糊，奄奄一息。
母亲安妮意识到女儿的命运和受伤的“朝圣者”有着密不可分的关连。为了拯救女儿和“朝圣者”，这位独立、干练的报刊主编带领一人一马开始追寻传说中的“马语者”。她们长途跋涉，万里奔波，在落基山脉的蒙大拿州，遇到了牛仔汤姆·布克。强悍而坚韧的汤姆以其精湛的技艺，奇迹般地治愈了“朝圣者”，并使克蕾斯重新跃上了马背……
在这段惊心动魄的心灵历险中，拥有非凡人格魅力的汤姆也慢慢走进了安妮的心灵，两人演绎了一段感人肺腑的爱情诗篇。但迫于世俗的道义和舆论，为了逃避无法承受的宿命，汤姆在一次意外中为了救出克蕾斯，毅然迎向了奔驰的野马群，走向了心灵的归途……
作者尼古拉斯·埃文斯通过《马语者》治疗在苦难中受伤的心灵，奉上了一个凄婉、感人的故事。本书一经出版，便在全球热销1500万册，雄踞《纽约时报》畅销书排行榜40周，并获得《出版人周刊》排行榜第一名，成为了1998年度《今日美国》的十大畅销书之一。根据该书改编而成的同名影片也获得1998年美国金球奖最佳影片奖。
本文节选自《马语者》第4部的第4章节，描述了汤姆以其精湛的技艺治愈了“朝圣者”和克蕾斯受伤的心灵，使克蕾斯勇敢地重新跃上了马背。
——Tracy
文字难度：★★★☆
Out in the arena, Tom and Smoky were huddled, having some urgent, hushed discussion none but 1)Pilgrim could hear. After a while, Tom left Pilgrim where he was and came over to where everyone was waiting.
“Okay Gracie,” he said. “We’re going to do something now that I’d kind of hoped we wouldn’t have to. But there’s still something going on inside him that I can’t reach in any other way. So me and Smoky here, we’re going to try laying him down. Okay?”
Grace nodded. Annie could see the girl had no clearer idea of what this meant than she had herself.
Tom 2)unhitched the 3)bridle and in its place 4)slipped on the rope 5)halter Smoky handed him. Then, one at a time, Smoky passed him the ends of two long ropes that were 6)coiled over his arm. Tom fastened one under the halter and the other to the horn of the 7)saddle.
He worked calmly, giving Pilgrim no cause for fear. The 8)subterfuge made him feel bad, knowing what was to come and how the trust he’d built with the horse would now have to be broken before it could be restored.
He asked Smoky for the 9)hobble. Smoothing his hand down Pilgrim’s left foreleg, he lifted the 10)hoof. The horse only shifted slightly. Tom soothed him all the time with his hand and his voice. Then, when the horse was still, he slipped the sling of 11)sacking over the hoof and made sure it was 12)snug. The other end was rope and with it he 13)hoisted the weight of the raised hoof and made it fast to the horn of the saddle. Pilgrim was now a three-legged animal. An explosion waiting to happen.
It happened, as he knew it would, as soon as Tom moved away and took one of the lines, the halter one, from Smoky. Pilgrim tried to move and found himself 14)crippled. He 15)lurched and 16)hopped on his right foreleg and the feeling scared him so badly that he jolted and hopped again and scared himself even worse.
At last the horse stopped. Now Smoky swung a wide 17)loop in the air and at the second attempt got it to fall over the horn of Pilgrim’s saddle. He pulled it tight then took the other end to the far side of the arena and tied it in a quick-release to the bottom rail. He came back and took the other two lines from Tom.
Now Tom went to the rail and started putting pressure on the 18)lasso line. Pilgrim felt it and braced himself. The pressure was downward and the horn of the saddle tilted.
“What’s he doing?” Grace’s voice was small and fearful.
Annie said, “He’s trying to get him to lie down.” 
Pilgrim fought long and hard and when at last he did kneel, Pilgrim 19)snorted like a wounded bull. There was foam 20)spewing at his mouth. His 21)flanks were 22)filthy where the sand had stuck to his sweat. Again he fought for a long time. But again it was too much. And at last, slowly, he keeled over on his side and lay his head on the sand and was still.
It seemed to Annie a total, 23)humiliating surrender.
She could feel Grace’s body start to shake with sobs. Grace turned and buried her face in Annie’s chest.
“Grace?” It was Tom. “Will you come here please?”
“No! I won’t!”
He left Smoky and headed toward them. His face was grim, almost unrecognizable.
“Grace? I’d like you to come with me.”
“No, I don’t want to!”
“You’ve got to.”
“No, you’ll only hurt him some more.”
“He’s not hurt. He’s okay.”
“Oh sure!”
“You’ve got to do this Grace. Trust me.”
“Do what?”
“Come with me and I’ll show you.”
24)Reluctantly, she let him lead her across the arena.
“Okay Grace,” Tom said. “I want you to 25)stroke him. I want you to start with his 26)hindquarters and 27)rub him and move his legs and feel him all over.”
“What’s the point? He’s good as dead.”
“Just do as I say.”
Grace walked hesitantly to the horse’s 28)rear.
Pilgrim didn’t lift his head from the sand.
“Okay. Now stroke him. Go on. Start with his leg there. Go on. 29)Waggle it around. That’s it.”
Grace cried out, “His body feels all dead and limp! What have you done to him?”
“He’ll be okay. Now put your hand on his 30)hip and rub him. Do it Grace. Good.”
Pilgrim didn’t move. Gradually Grace worked her way along him, 31)smearing the dust on his heaving, sweaty sides, working his limbs to Tom’s instruction. At last she rubbed his neck and the wet, silky side of his head.
“Okay. Now I want you to stand on him.”
“What!” Grace looked at him as if he were mad.
“I want you to stand on him.”
“No way.”
“Grace...”
It was impossible to disobey. Grace started to cry. He took her hand and led her into the curve of Pilgrim’s belly.
“Now step up. Go on, step up on him.”
And she did. And with the tears streaming on her face, she stood frail, like a 32)maimed soul, on the beaten flank of the creature she loved most in all the world and sobbed at her own 33)brutality.
Tom paid no attention and told her she could now get down.
“Why are you doing this?” Grace begged. “It’s so cruel and humiliating.”
“No, you’re wrong.” He was helping Grace to get down.
“What?”
“You’re wrong. It’s not cruel. He had the choice.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He had the choice to go on fighting life or to accept it.”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “What just happened to him, laying down like that, was the worst thing he could imagine. And you know what? He found out it was okay. Even you standing on him was okay. He saw you meant him no harm. The darkest hour comes before the dawn. That was Pilgrim’s darkest hour and he survived it. Do you understand?’’
Grace was wiping her tears and trying to make sense of it. “I don’t know,” she said. “I think so.”
“Sometimes what seems like surrender isn’t surrender at all. It’s about what’s going on in our hearts. About seeing clearly the way life is and accepting it and being true to it, whatever the pain, because the pain of not being true to it is far, far greater.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes and tried to smile.
Tom told Grace to lead him to the tank at the side of the arena and she stood beside him while he took a good long drink. When he’d finished he lifted his head and yawned and everyone laughed.
Then Tom put the bridle back on and told Grace to put her foot in the 34)stirrup. Pilgrim stood still as a house. Tom took her weight on his shoulder and she swung her leg and sat in the saddle.
She felt no fear. She walked him first one way around the arena then the other. Then she took him up to a lope and it was fine and 35)collected and smooth as silk.
But this was Pilgrim. Her Pilgrim. He’d come through. And she could feel him beneath her, like he always used to be, giving and trusting and true.
竞赛场中，汤姆和史墨基两人互搭对方的肩膀，以只有朝圣者听得到的音量在窃窃讨论着什么急事。不一会儿，汤姆把朝圣者留在原地，自己走到众人都在等候的栏杆边。
“好啦，克蕾斯，”汤姆说，“现在我们要做一些我原本不希望做的事，因为它心里仍存在某些阴影。除此之外，我没有什么别的办法。我和史墨基将设法让它躺下，好吗？”
克蕾斯点点头。安妮看得出女儿和自己一样，对他们将要进行的事情一点也不清楚。
汤姆解开马笼头，代之以史墨基递给他的缰绳。然后史墨基把缠绕在自己手臂上的两条长绳的尾端分别交到他的手中。汤姆将其中一条紧系在缰绳下面，另一条绑在马鞍的角上。
他从容地进行着，不让朝圣者有一丝惧怕。他了解即将发生的事情，知道必须先彻底瓦解自己与这匹马建立起来的信任，才能最终使马儿恢复信赖。这个计谋委实让汤姆感到心酸难过。
汤姆要史墨基把用来捆绑马腿的绳索拿给他。然后他的手顺着朝圣者左前腿轻轻往下抚摸并抬起那只蹄子。马儿的反应只是微微踏动几下。汤姆从头到尾利用自己的手和声音放松着它的情绪。然后，等到马儿完全静止不动之际，他便将旧麻布袋的细绳顺溜地套在蹄子上方，并确保绳子紧紧套住马蹄。接着他再使劲拉动另一端的绳索，把整个左前蹄往上扯，并将它紧紧绑在马鞍角上。这会儿，朝圣者变成了一只三脚牲口了。一场狂风暴雨蓄势待发。
果不其然，汤姆才刚退下，从史墨基手上拿来一条缰绳后，场面便开始热闹起来。朝圣者试图移动，却发现自己成了一只跛脚马，只能踉踉跄跄地利用右前腿跳动，这种感觉让它恐慌不已，于是它再次摇晃着单脚跳起来，结果只是慌得更加六神无主。
最后马儿终于停步了。这时史墨基在空中甩开一个大大的圈子，随即在第二次尝试时让索圈准确地落在朝圣者马鞍的拱角上。他把它扯紧之后，拉着绳尾走到竞赛场的另一头，然后迅速将绳子绑在底部栏杆上。他走回原处，从汤姆手中拿走另外那两条绳子。
现在汤姆走到栏杆边，开始在那条套索上面施加压力。朝圣者感受到那力量，登时一跃而起。绳子上所承受的力量是往下面压，因此马鞍的拱角向上翘起。
“他在做什么？”克蕾斯细微的声音充满了恐惧。
安妮答道：“他正在设法让它躺下。”
朝圣者拼命顽抗了许久，最后终于跪倒在地。朝圣者像头受伤的公牛般喷着鼻气，嘴巴冒出泡沫，两侧腰腹散发出飞沙粘着汗水的臭味。它又挣扎了半天，但结果还是支撑不住。最后，它终于缓缓地侧躺下来，头贴沙地，一动不动。
安妮感觉出那似乎是个彻底的颜面扫地的投降。
她可以感到克蕾斯的身体因为不断抽泣而颤抖。克蕾斯转身把头埋在安妮的胸前。
“克蕾斯！”是汤姆的呼唤，“请你过来好吗？”
“不，我不！”
汤姆撇下史墨基，朝她们走来。他脸上的神情十分严肃，几乎让人认不出。
“克蕾斯，我希望你随我来。”
“不，我不要！”
“你非来不可！”
“不！你们只会更厉害地伤害它。”
“它没有受伤，它还好好的。”
“噢，是啊！”
“你非做这件事不可，克蕾斯！相信我！”
“做什么？”
“随我来，我会告诉你。”
克蕾斯在汤姆的带领下悻悻然走向场中。
“好了，克蕾斯，”汤姆说，“我要你轻轻地抚摸它，我要你从它的臀部、后腿开始为它按摩，抬动它的脚，抚摸它的全身。”
“这有什么用？它根本就像死了一样。”
“照我的话做就是。”
克蕾斯踌躇着走到马的身后。
朝圣者没有从沙地里抬起头。
“好啦！现在抚摸它，继续，从它的大腿开始，继续。摆动一下它的大腿，好极了！”
克蕾斯哭喊道：“它好像死了、跛了一样。你究竟对它做了什么？”
“它不会有事的。现在把你的手放在它的臀部，为它按摩。快做，克蕾斯。很好！”
朝圣者没有移动。克蕾斯在汤姆的指示下，渐次由臀部往前揉捏，抹掉它汗涔涔的腹侧上的沙泥，活动它的四肢，最后按摩它的脖子，以及又湿又滑的头部两侧。
“好了。现在我要你站到它身上去。”
“什么！”克蕾斯瞪着他，仿佛这个人已经疯了似的。
“我要你站到它身上去。”
“休想。”
“克蕾斯……”
汤姆的口气根本不容抗拒，克蕾斯放声大哭。汤姆抓着她的手，把她拉到朝圣者腹部的弧线之内。
“马上踩上去。听着，踩到它的身上去。”
克蕾斯踏到马儿的肚子上，两行泪水像断了线的珠子一样不停地往下掉，整个人如受了伤一般虚弱无力地站在她至爱的牲口的腰肋上，为自己的残暴呜呜地啜泣。
汤姆对此不加理会，只告诉她，现在可以下来了。
“你为什么要这么做？”克蕾斯哀求道，“这既是酷刑又是凌辱！”
“不，你错了。”汤姆扶着克蕾斯从马儿身上下来。
“什么？”
“你错了。这并不残酷。它可以选择。”
“你在说什么啊？”
“它可以选择是要拼命抵抗还是接受。”
他双手搭住她的肩膀：“刚刚它所碰到的事情—那副样子躺在场中央——是它所能想象到的最糟的情形。你知道吗？它发现了那不会有事，就算你站在它身上也不会有事，它看得出你无意伤害它。黎明之前是最黑暗的时刻。刚刚就是朝圣者最黑暗的时刻，它熬过去了。你明白吗？”
克蕾斯举手拭泪，试图理解他的话。“我不知道。”她说，“可能是吧！”
“有时候表面上看起来像屈服，未必就是屈服。这一切关系到我们内心之中的历程，关乎清清楚楚地认识生活的原貌并且接受它，不管有多痛苦，仍然要坦诚地面对它，因为不坦诚地对待生活会遭受大得多的痛苦。”
她点点头，抹掉泪水，勉强露出一丝微笑。
克蕾斯依照汤姆的吩咐，把朝圣者牵到竞赛场边的水槽旁，站在一旁看它喝水喝个够。喝完水后，它昂起头，咧着嘴打起呵欠，把一旁的众人看得都笑了。
接着，汤姆把笼头套回马儿的脸上，叫克蕾斯把腿伸进马镫去。朝圣者稳得像座房子一样立在场中。汤姆用自己的肩膀撑起她，让她把腿荡过马背，坐到马鞍上。
她一点也不怕了，先让马儿顺着竞赛场朝一个方向行走，然后掉转马头逆向漫步，最后要它撒开四蹄，尽情奔跑。它跑得既优雅又泰然自若，并且像丝缎般顺畅。
这才是朝圣者，她的朝圣者，它过关了！她可以感受到它在自己的胯下。如同过去一样，它乐于奉献、愿意信赖，而且非常忠实。