I had set the alarm for 2∶30 a.m.， but well before it went off， my boyfriend and I woke to a pounding on the chalet door. Waking from a deep sleep， we found our neighbors on the doorstep.

“Quick！” they shouted. “The clouds have cleared. Its happening.”

Neil and I had arrived in Finnish Lapland the day before. With its short days and temperatures low enough to bring on frostbite， there was one goal in my mind： to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis.

Since seeing photographs of this natural phenomenon， also known as the northern lights， I had dreamed of watching the sky fill with green， pink and white light. So I decided to make my dream come true.

The northern lights have been spotted as far south as Mississippi—though they are far more regularly seen in places such as Norway， Iceland， Greenland， Sweden， Alaska and Canada. I chose to hunt for them in Finnish Lapland， the northernmost part of the country.

Not only is the area stunningly beautiful， it has a good record for aurora borealis sightings—the lights appear here some 200 nights of the year. I booked a five-day stay at Ukonj？rvi Holiday Village， with cozy chalets on the edge of Lake Ukonjarvi.

This part of Finland is a true wilderness， with an average of just one inhabitant per square mile. Its a land of sparkling lakes， snow-covered pine and birch forests， and clear blue skies. We arrived around lunchtime and took a walk while it was still light out. We quickly realized that snowshoes would make the going easier， so in early evening we put some on and headed out onto the frozen lake. For two hours we stood in the cold watching the sky， returning around midnight to do the same， hoping that the lights would come out to play.

That first night， my anticipation was met with disappointment. We needed a clear sky to get a good view of the northern lights； all we got was cloud cover. It was said that the rest of the week would look similar.

Despite the cold， we spent most of our days outdoors. We kept our focus closer to the ground， with hikes across a frozen landscape filled with hues of white， gray， blue and silver. Walking across Lake Ukonjarvi， I was struck by the hardiness of life in this climate. With no people or cars nearby， and a blanket of snow over everything， its little wonder that there was near-total silence. The only sound we could hear was that of the snow crunching beneath our feet.

One morning， we traded our snowshoes for a dogpowered sled. Whooshing through the Arctic snowscape behind a pack of husky dogs was an amazing experience. At times， the younger huskies seemed more eager to cuddle up with the older dogs， but when they started racing， it was hard to catch my breath as we sped along the steep， narrow trails through the forests.

Our nightly trips， though slower and quieter were still the most exciting. Each night， I put on every layer of clothing Id brought with me， as well as Arctic overalls—pants designed to keep out the cold and damp—I had borrowed from the owner of our chalet. Neil and I put on our snowshoes and walked about ten minutes out to Lake Ukonjarvi.

Sometimes we went light-watching at 8 p.m.， other nights at midnight. It was always bitterly cold， and the temptation to return to a warm bed （or the hot sauna that came with our cottage） was almost enough to send me back inside. And yet， night after night I found myself standing on the ice in the dark and silent Arctic night， looking up at the sky， waiting for it to glow green.

When our neighbors woke us with the shouts that the clouds had cleared， I rushed out， met by what looked like a million stars. There was no aurora yet， which meant there was still time to get a good spot. My heart racing， I dressed as quickly as I could. This was one show I didnt plan on missing-who knew if I would ever get to see it again？

Out on the lake， we stopped a few hundred feet from the shore. I started to calm down as I looked up at the starlit sky. Once again， we waited. Nothing. Time seemed to stand still.

After about 30 minutes， a band of white appeared in the heavens directly above our heads. For a moment， my hopes sank-it simply looked like a cloud.

Then the streak started swirling around， and was soon joined by a curtain of white-green light. The northern lights， moving and twinkling across the Arctic sky， had joined us.

我把鬧鐘調(diào)到了凌晨?jī)牲c(diǎn)半，但時(shí)間還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)沒到，我和男友就被小木屋門口一陣大力的敲門聲吵醒了。睡眼惺忪的我們，發(fā)現(xiàn)門口臺(tái)階上站著我們的鄰居。

“快！”他們大聲喊道?！盀踉埔呀?jīng)散了，開始出現(xiàn)了！”

就在前一天，我和尼爾來到了芬蘭的拉普蘭。雖然這里白天很短，溫度低到足以使人長(zhǎng)凍瘡，但此行我有一個(gè)目標(biāo)：親眼目睹極光（aurora borealis）的風(fēng)采。

自從看過這種自然現(xiàn)象（又叫northern lights）的照片以后，我就夢(mèng)想著有一天能親眼看到鋪滿綠色、粉紅和白色光芒的天幕。所以，我決定實(shí)現(xiàn)我的夢(mèng)想。

雖然南至（美國(guó)）密西西比州都曾觀測(cè)到北極光，但在挪威、冰島、格陵蘭、瑞典、阿拉斯加和加拿大等地更為常見。我選擇到芬蘭最北端的拉普蘭尋找它們的蹤跡。

這片地區(qū)不僅美得驚人，還有很高的北極光目擊記錄，一年約有兩百個(gè)晚上會(huì)出現(xiàn)極光。我在烏空加維（音譯）渡假村預(yù)訂了五天的住宿，住在烏空加維湖邊溫馨舒適的小屋里。

芬蘭的這片地區(qū)是一片真正的荒原，平均每平方英里只有一個(gè)居民。這片土地有著波光粼粼的湖泊、積雪覆蓋的松林和樺樹林，還有清澈的藍(lán)天。我們差不多在午飯時(shí)間來到這里，趁著天色還亮走一走。很快我們就發(fā)現(xiàn)，雪鞋對(duì)于在這里走路很有幫助，所以傍晚我們就穿著這種鞋走到了結(jié)冰的湖面上。我們?cè)诤L(fēng)里站了兩個(gè)小時(shí)，望著天空，到了午夜又再回來觀望，祈禱著北極光會(huì)出來嬉戲一下。

頭天晚上，我的期待落空了。觀賞極光需要有晴朗的天空，而那天晚上云層密布。據(jù)說那個(gè)星期剩下的日子也差不多都是這種天氣。

冷歸冷，我們大部分時(shí)間還是待在戶外。我們穿行在這片充斥著白、灰、藍(lán)、銀色調(diào)的冰天雪地里，盡量把目光鎖定在更靠近地面的地方。在走過烏空加維湖的時(shí)候，我不禁震撼于在這種氣候下生命的頑強(qiáng)。周圍不見一人一車，積雪如毯覆蓋在萬物之上——毫不奇怪，這里幾乎寂靜無聲。唯一能聽到的，只有我們腳下的雪發(fā)出的嘎吱嘎吱聲。

一天早上，我們拿我們的雪鞋換了一輛狗拉的雪橇。跟在一群哈士奇犬身后呼啦啦地穿越極地的雪景，真是一次美妙的經(jīng)歷。比較年輕的哈士奇有時(shí)似乎更喜歡和老狗抱團(tuán)嬉鬧，但它們一拉起車來，帶著我們?cè)诹种卸盖酮M窄的小徑上穿行時(shí)，我?guī)缀蹩傄粐樀蒙蠚獠唤酉職狻?/p>

我們夜里的活動(dòng)雖然較為和緩安靜，但依然帶給我更大的刺激。每天晚上，我都要把我?guī)淼拿恳粚右路即┥?，最后還要套上從小屋主人那里借來的專為防寒防潮設(shè)計(jì)的極地工裝褲。尼爾和我穿上雪鞋，走了大約10分鐘，來到烏空加維湖。

有時(shí)我們晚上8點(diǎn)去看極光，有時(shí)是在午夜。外面永遠(yuǎn)天寒地凍，回到溫暖的床上（或是我們小屋里配備的熱桑拿房）的誘惑幾乎足以叫我又溜回屋里。然而，夜復(fù)一夜，我還是站在了極地寂靜暗夜里的寒冰上仰望天空，等待它發(fā)出綠色的幽光。

我們的鄰居叫醒我們，說云已經(jīng)散去時(shí)，我立刻沖了出去，迎面而來的仿佛是億萬顆星星。但還沒有極光。這意味著還有時(shí)間找到一個(gè)更好的觀測(cè)點(diǎn)。我的心怦怦直跳，以最快的速度穿好了衣服。這是一場(chǎng)我絕對(duì)無意錯(cuò)過的演出，誰知道我還能不能再次看到呢？

我們來到湖上，停在離岸邊幾百英尺的地方。當(dāng)我抬頭仰望著那片絕美的天空，我的心情開始平靜下來。我們又一次等待著。然而，什么也沒有。時(shí)間仿佛靜止了。

大約過了三十分鐘，一條白色的光帶出現(xiàn)在我們頭頂正上方。有那么一刻，我感到失望——它看起來只不過像一片云。

隨后，那條光帶開始四處旋轉(zhuǎn)，很快又有一簾白綠色的光加入了這個(gè)漩渦。散發(fā)著幽幽的光，帶著脈動(dòng)劃過北極的星空——北極光終于來到了我們中間。

下次省更多

“Youll be pleased with me today， mother，” said Dick to his mother， coming home from school. “I saved on fares. I didnt go to schoolby bus but ran all the way after it.”“Well，” said his mother laughing. “Next time you should run after a taxi， youll save much more.”

“媽媽，你今天會(huì)對(duì)我滿意的，”放學(xué)回家后，迪克對(duì)媽媽說。“我省下了車錢。我上學(xué)時(shí)沒有乘公共汽車，而是一路跟著公共汽車跑?！?/p>

“噢，”她的媽媽笑道。“下次你應(yīng)該跟在出租車后面跑，會(huì)省更多?！?/p>