硬币的另外一面

I was doing a big clean-up in the early part of last year and my kids were helping. As he rummaged through boxes and bags, one of my sons came across a knotted handkerchief with an old dark brown coin nestled inside. ''Mum, can I have this? Can I play with this in my cash register?'' he asked. I took one look and was immediately transported to another time. ''You can play with all your coins, but not this one,'' I said slowly. ''This one's special. I will never again see the woman who gave this to me.'' I fingered the coin gently. ''This coin is worth much more than its monetary value.''

去年早些时候我进行了一次打清理，我的孩子们一起帮忙。我的一个儿子翻箱倒柜，发现一条打结的手帕，里面有一枚发黑的硬币。他问道：“妈妈，可以给我吗?我想用它来玩收银机。“我看了一眼，马上想起了另一段时光。“你所有的硬币都可以玩，但这枚不行”我缓缓地说，“它很特殊。我再也不会碰见给我这枚硬币的女人了”我抚摸着硬币，说： “这枚硬币的价值远不止这点。”

My son looked at me strangely and I explained. In 1991, I had spent five months in a bleak African country, Niger, ravaged by sandstorms and blistering heat. There were many things I found difficult about this place – the climate and beggars were my biggest and most constant gripes. Street urchins would continually thrust their hands into your face, shouting ''Cadeau! Cadeau!'' [gift] in French, the former colonial tongue.

我儿子奇怪地看着我，于是我解释给他听。1991年我在尼日尔呆了五个月。那是个荒凉的非洲国家,沙暴遍地，酷热难当。我最恨最烦的两件事就是天气和乞丐。流浪儿们时不时地把手伸到你面前，用法语喊着：“礼物!礼物!”

After I'd finished my nursing stint there, a friend and I headed for neighbouring Burkina Faso to work in a health clinic.

护理工作结束之后，我和一位朋友去了邻国布基纳法索的一家健康中心工作。

''It's much greener in Burkina. Even the Coke tastes better,'' the locals assured us.

当地人告诉我：“布基纳法索比这里干净多了，就连可乐的味道都好得多。”

Arriving by taxi at our destination in Burkina, we began to unload. I had a large backpack and a smaller daypack. With my daypack wedged between my legs, I reached for my larger piece of luggage. Out of the darkness, a motorbike with two men approached slowly. Without warning, one of the men grabbed my daypack as the motorbike swept close by. Within seconds, the two were out of sight, swallowed up by the night.

乘出租到达目的地后，我们开始卸行李。我有两个背包，一大一小。我把小包夹在双腿中间，去拿大包。黑暗中，两个男人骑着摩托车慢慢地靠近。当摩托车驶过的时候，其中一个男人突然抢走了我的小包。很快，两个人消失在夜色之中。

The bag had my passport, money, traveller's cheques, camera, an airline ticket and other paraphernalia precious to me. I was in deep trouble. And the nearest Australian consulate was in Ethiopia.

小包里有我的护照、钱、旅行支票、相机、机票和其它珍贵的私人物品。我的麻烦大了，最近的澳大利亚领事馆在埃塞俄比亚!

In the weeks that followed, I zealously guarded the rest of my valuables and regarded all locals with suspicion. I endured interrogations by the authorities with thinly veiled frustration. All I wanted was to leave this hellhole.

接下来的几个星期里，我警惕地保护着剩下的东西，怀疑每一个当地人，对当地部门的盘问也很不合作。我想的就是离开这个鬼地方。

Then, walking through Burkina's streets one day, I was accosted by an old woman who thrust her hand in my face. ''Cadeau! Cadeau!'' she cried.

一天我走在布基纳法索的街上，碰到了一个老女人。她把手伸到我的面前，叫道：“礼物!礼物!”

I'd had enough. I was sick and tired of the country: its poverty and corruption, its thieves, its inefficiency, the heat, the dust and its time-wasting officials. I told her firmly in French, ''I have no ‘cadeau'. I have no money. A thief stole all my money two weeks ago and now I can't get out of your country. I cannot give you anything.''

我受够了!我再也不能忍受这个国家，她的贫穷和腐败，她的小偷、无能、酷热、沙尘和浪费时间的官员。我直接用法语对它说：“我没有礼物，没有钱。两个星期前，一个贼偷光了我的钱，搞得我现在没法离开你们的国家。我什么都给不了你。”

The beggar woman listened attentively and pondered my words. Then her face crumpled into a toothless grin as she reached into the folds of her dress.

那个女乞丐仔细听着，琢磨着我的话。然后她咧嘴笑了，露出没牙的嘴巴，把手伸进了衣服的褶缝里。

''Then I will give you a cadeau,'' she announced. Kindly, she placed an old, dark brown coin in my palm. I looked at it in shock. It was a minuscule amount of money – but for this woman, the coin represented a meal. In that moment, I felt the shame of affluence and the humility of charity. She had given me a gift disproportionate to anything that I had ever donated. In the midst of her poverty, she was able to give me something priceless.

“那么，我给你一个礼物。”她轻轻地把一枚发黑的硬币放在我手里。我吃惊地看着硬币，它的面额很低——但对那个女人而言，这就是一顿饭!那一刻，我感到无地自容。她给我的远比我曾经捐过的任何东西都值钱。尽管她很穷，她给我的东西无价!

I saw then the unexpected beauty of the people of Burkina Faso – and appreciated profoundly the quiet dignity of the poor. Humbled by the old woman's gift, I hope never to part with the coin she gave me. With one small token, she turned my perceptions upside down.

我看到了布基纳法索人民令人始料未及的美丽，深深地感受到穷苦人民内心的尊严。惭愧之余，我希望这枚硬币永远伴随着我。一枚小小的硬币，让我彻底改变了我的观念。