Chapter 26

A few days after the meeting on the esplanade, I took mycourage into my hands and went to see Father at his office.
"Father?""Yes, Piscine.""I would like to be baptized and I would like a prayer rug."My words intruded¹ slowly. He looked up from his papersafter some seconds.
"A what? What?""I would like to pray outside without getting my pants dirty.
And I'm attending a Christian² school without having receivedthe proper baptism of Christ.""Why do you want to pray outside? In fact, why do youwant to pray at all?""Because I love God.""Aha." He seemed taken aback by my answer, nearlyembarrassed by it. There was a pause. I thought he was goingto offer me ice cream again. "Well, Petit Seminaire is Christianonly in name. There are many Hindu boys there who aren'tChristians. You'll get just as good an education without beingbaptized. Praying to Allah won't make any difference, either.""But I want to pray to Allah. I want to be a Christian.""You can't be both. You must be either one or the other.""Why can't I be both?""They're separate religions! They have nothing in common.""That's not what they say! They both claim Abraham astheirs. Muslims say the God of the Hebrews and Christians³ isthe same as the God of the Muslims. They recognize David,Moses and Jesus as prophets.""What does this have to do with us, Piscine? We're Indians!""There have been Christians and Muslims in India forcenturies! Some people say Jesus is buried in Kashmir."He said nothing, only looked at me, his brow furrowed⁴.
Suddenly business called.
"Talk to Mother about it."She was reading.
"Mother?""Yes, darling.""I would like to be baptized and I would like a prayer rug.""Talk to Father about it.""I did. He told me to talk to you about it.""Did he?" She laid her book down. She looked out in thedirection of the zoo. At that moment I'm sure Father felt ablow of chill air against the back of his neck. She turned tothe bookshelf. "I have a book here that you'll like." She alreadyhad her arm out, reaching for a volume. It was Robert LouisStevenson. This was her usual tactic⁵.
"I've already read that, Mother. Three times.""Oh." Her arm hovered⁶ to the left.
"The same with Conan Doyle," I said.
Her arm swung to the right. "R. K. Narayan? You can'tpossibly have read all of Narayan?""These matters are important to me, Mother.""Robinson Crusoe!""Mother!""But Piscine!" she said. She settled back into her chair, apath-of-least-resistance look on her face, which meant I had toput up a stiff fight in precisely⁷ the right spots. She adjusted acushion. "Father and I find your religious zeal⁸ a bit of amystery.""It is a Mystery.""Hmmm. I don't mean it that way. Listen, my darling, ifyou're going to be religious, you must be either a Hindu, aChristian or a Muslim. You heard what they said on theesplanade.""I don't see why I can't be all three. Mamaji has twopassports. He's Indian and French. Why can't I be a Hindu, aChristian and a Muslim?""That's different. France and India are nations on earth.""How many nations are there in the sky?"She thought for a second. "One. That's the point. Onenation, one passport.""One nation in the sky?""Yes. Or none. There's that option too, you know. These areterribly old-fashioned things you've taken to.""If there's only one nation in the sky, shouldn't all passportsbe valid⁹ for it?"A cloud of uncertainty¹⁰ came over her face.
"Bapu Gandhi said – ""Yes, I know what Bapu Gandhi said." She brought a handto her forehead. She had a weary look, Mother did. "Goodgrief," she said.

1 intruded   

n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于

参考例句：

• One could believe that human creatures had never intruded there before. 你简直会以为那是从来没有人到过的地方。 来自辞典例句
• The speaker intruded a thin smile into his seriousness. 演说人严肃的脸上掠过一丝笑影。 来自辞典例句

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

4 furrowed   

v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
• The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠，在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句

5 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

6 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

7 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

8 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

9 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。