双语 ● Proud of You 为你骄傲
Proud of You 为你骄傲
◎ Jerry Harpt
Forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance. I have forgotten the name of an old lady, who was a customer on the paper route in my home town when I was a twelve-year-old boy. Yet it dwells in my memory that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness that I shall never forget.
记住一个仅是认识的人的名字，43年似乎是段很长的时间。我已经忘了那位老妇人的名字，她是我12岁那年在家乡送报历程中的一位顾客。然而，我永远都不会忘记，她曾给我上的那堂关于“宽恕”的课。
On a winter afternoon, a friend and I were throwing stones onto the slanted roof of the old lady’s house from a spot near her backyard. The object of our play was to observe how the stones changed to missiles as they rolled to the roof’s edge and shot out into the yard like comets falling from the sky. I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and threw it out. The stone was too smooth, however, so it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight not for the roof but for a small window on the old lady’s back porch . At the sound of fractured glass, we knew we were in trouble. We turned tail and ran faster than any of our missiles flew off her roof.
一个冬日的下午，我和一个朋友在老太太家附近的一个后院，往她家的斜屋顶上扔石子玩。我们游戏的目的就是观察这些石子如何变成一颗导弹，从屋顶的边缘瞬间滚落到河岸，像滑过天空的彗星那样射入院中。我找到了一颗十分光滑的石子，然后扔了出去。但是，这颗石子太光滑了，以至于在出手的一刹那偏离了方向。它没有落在屋顶上，反而直接击中了老太太屋后门廊上的一扇小窗户。听到玻璃的破碎声，我们知道自己闯祸了。我们掉头就跑，跑得比任何一颗从她屋顶上发射的导弹都要快。
I was too scared about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady with the broken window in winter. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn’t been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper, but I was no longer able to act comfortable in her presence.
那天晚上，我太害怕被抓住，没有考虑到被打碎的窗户在寒冷的冬天会给老太太带来什么麻烦。然而，几天之后，当我确认没被人发现时，就开始对给她带来的不幸感到内疚了。每天我给她送报纸时，她仍然笑眯眯地迎接我。但是，在她面前，我再也无法像过去那样自由自在了。
I made up my mind that I would save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I calculated would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that I was sorry for breaking her window and hoped that the seven dollars would cover the cost for repairing it.
我自己下定主意，决定把送报挣的钱攒起来。三周后，我便有了7美元。我估计这大概够赔偿她的窗户了。我把钱放进一个信封，并附上一张便条，解释说我十分抱歉打破了她家的窗户，希望这7美元足够赔付她修理窗户的费用。
I waited until it was dark, snuck up to the old lady’s house, and put the letter I didn’t sign through the letter slot in her door. My soul felt redeemed and I could have the freedom of, once again, looking straight into the old lady’s kind eyes.
我一直等到天黑，才悄悄溜进老太太的家，把这封没有署名的信从信箱口投了进去。做完这件事情后，我感到自己的灵魂似乎得到了解脱，重新获得了自由，我能够再次无拘无束地直视老太太亲切的目光了。
The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and gave me a bag of cookies she had made herself. I thanked her and proceeded to eat the cookies as I continued my route.
第二天，当老太太微笑着从我手上接过报纸时，我也向她回报了一个温暖的微笑。她对我的送报工作表示感谢，送了我一袋她亲手做的甜饼。谢过她后，我一边吃着曲奇饼，一边继续给别的客户送报纸。
After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was stunned. Inside were the seven dollars and a short note that said, “I’m proud of you.”
吃了几块饼干后，我摸到了一个信封，就把它从袋子里拽了出来。当我打开信封时，我愣住了。信封里有7美元，还有一张纸条，上面写道：“我为你感到骄傲。”
