I used to watch her from my kitchen window, she seemed so small as she muscled her way through the crowd of boys on the playground. The school was across the street from our home and I would often watch the kids as they played during recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stood out from them all.

    我以前常常從我家廚房的窗戶看到她，她強行擠過操場上的一群男孩子，對這些男孩們來說，她顯得那么矮小。學校在我家的街對面，我經常看到孩子們在下課時間打球。盡管有一大群的孩子，但我覺得她是最吸引我注意的一個。

    I remember the first day I saw her playing basketball. I watched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids. She managed to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into the net. The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.

    我記得第一次看到她打籃球的情景。看見她繞著其他孩子旁邊游走的時候，我感到十分驚奇。她設法跳起投籃，球恰好越過那些孩子的頭頂飛入籃筐。那些男孩總是拼命地阻止她，但沒有人可以做得到。

    I began to notice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone. She would practice dribbling and shooting over and over again, sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practiced so much. She looked directly in my eyes and without a moment of hesitation she said,"I want to go to college. The only way I can go is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided that if I were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going to play college basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count." Then she smiled and ran towards the court to recap the routine I had seen over and over again.

    另外一些時候，她一個人練球，我開始注意觀察她的舉動。她一般是一遍遍地練習運球和投籃，有時直到天黑。有一天，我問她為什么這么刻苦地練習。她直視著我的眼睛，不假思索地說："我想上大學。只有獲得獎學金我才能有錢去上大學。因為我喜歡打籃球，所以我決定了，只要我成為一個出色的球員，我就能獲得獎學金。我將能夠到大學去打籃球。我想成為最棒的球員。我父親告訴我說，如果夢想遠大，就一定可以克服艱難險阻。"說完她笑了笑，跑向籃球場，又開始我之前見過的一遍又一遍的練習。

    Well, I had to give it to her--- she was determined. I watched her through those junior high years and into high school. Every week, she led her varsity team to victory.

    嘿，我真服了她--她是個有決心的人。我看著她這些年從初中升到高中。每個星期，由她帶領的學校籃球隊都能夠獲勝。

    One day in her senior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled in her arms. I walked across the street and sat down in the cool grass beside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. "Oh, nothing," came to a soft reply. "I'm just too short." The coach told her that at"5'5" she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team-- much less offered a scholarship-- so she should stop dreaming about college.

    在她讀高中的某一天，我看見她坐在草地上，頭埋在臂彎里。因此，我穿過街道，坐到她旁邊的清涼的草地上，輕輕地問她發生了什么事。她輕聲回答："哦，沒什么，只是我太矮了。"原來籃球教練告訴她，以她五英尺五英寸的身材，幾乎是沒有機會到一流的球隊去打球的，更不用說會獲得獎學金了，所以她應該放棄想上大學的夢想。

    She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tighten as I sensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to her dad about it yet.She lifted her head from her hands and told me that her father said those coaches were wrong. They just didn't understand the power of a dream. He told her that if she really wanted to play for a good college, if she truly wanted a scholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing-- her own attitude. He told her again," if the dream is big enough, the facts don't count."

    她很傷心，由于感受到了她的失望，我也覺得自己的喉嚨發緊。我問她是否與她的爸爸談過這件事。她從臂彎里抬起頭，告訴我，她父親說那些教練講得不對。他們根本不懂得夢想的力量。她父親說，如果她真地有心去代表一個好的大學打籃球，如果她真的想獲得獎學金，任何東西也不能阻止她，除非她自己沒有這個心。他又一次跟她說："如果夢想遠大，就一定可以克服艱難險阻。"

    The next year, as she and her team went to the Northern California Championship game, she was seen by a college recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a full ride, to a Division I, NCAA women's basketball team. She was going to get the college education that she had dreamed of and worked toward for all those years.

    第二年，當她和她的球隊去參加北加利福尼亞州冠軍賽時，她被一位大學的招生人員看中了。那所大學真地為她提供了一份全面資助的獎學金，并且她進入了美國全國大學體育協會其中一個女子甲組籃球隊。她將接受到她夢想過的并為之奮斗了多年的大學教育。

    It's true: If the dream is big enough, the facts don't count.

    這句話說得真好：如果夢想遠大，就一定可以克服艱難險阻。