導讀1父愛Daddyjustdidn’tknowhowtoshowlove.ItwasMomwhoheldthefamilytogether.Hejustwen....1父愛

Daddy just didn’t know how to show love. It was Mom who held the family together. He just went to work every day and came home; she’d have a list of sins we’d committed and he’d scold us about them.

爸爸根本不知道怎樣表達愛。把這個家維系在一起的人是媽媽。爸爸天天去上班，回家，然后是媽媽向他數落我們所做的一連串錯事，爸爸再為了這些事把我們罵一頓。

Once when I stole a candy bar, he made me take it back and tell the man I stole it and that I’d pay for it. But it was Mom who understood I was just a kid.

有一次我偷了一根棒棒糖。爸爸硬是要我送回去，還要我告訴賣糖的人是我偷了糖，并說我愿意幫他拆箱開包作為賠償。但媽媽卻理解我，她知道我只不過是個孩子。

I broke my leg once on the playground swing and it was Mom who held me in her arms all the way to the hospital. Dad pulled the car right up to the door of the emergency room and when they asked him to move it saying the space was reserved for emergency vehicles, He shouted, “What do you think this is? A tour bus?”

再有一次，我在操場蕩秋千摔壞了腿，一路抱著我到醫院的人是媽媽。爸爸將車正好停在急診室門口。因為那兒是專供急救車?？康?，醫院里的人就叫我爸爸把車開走。爸爸大聲吼叫起來：“你以為這是什么車？難道是旅游車嗎？”

02一把車鑰匙

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealers showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

從前，有位年輕人即將大學生畢業。數月來，他一直渴望得到某汽車商產品陳列室中的一輛跑車。他知道，他那富有的父親肯定買得起這輛車，于是，他便跟父親說他很想得到那輛漂亮的跑車。

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young mans name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

在畢業典禮即將來臨的日子里，年輕人等待著父親買下跑車的消息。終于，在畢業典禮那天上午，父親將他叫到自己的書房，并告訴他，有他這么出色的兒子自己感到非常自豪而且非常愛他這個兒子。接著，父親遞給兒子一個包裝精美的禮品盒。年輕人感到好奇，但帶著些許失望地打開禮品盒，卻發現里面是一本精美的精裝本《圣經》，上面以金子凸印著年輕人的名字?？戳T，年輕人怒氣沖沖地向父親大喊道：“你有那么多錢，卻只給我一本《圣經》？”說完，便丟下《圣經》，憤怒地沖出房子。

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

多年以后，年輕人已事業有成。他擁有一所漂亮的房子，一個溫馨的家庭。但當得知父親年事已高，他想，或許應該去看看他。自從畢業那天起他就一直不見父親。就在起程時，他收到一封電報－－父親已逝世，并已立下遺囑將其所有財產轉給兒子。他要立即回父親家處理后事。

When he arrived at his fathers house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his fathers important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealers name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... "PAID IN FULL".

在父親的房子里，他突然內心感到一陣悲傷與懊悔。他開始仔細搜尋父親的重要文件，突然發現了那本《圣經》－－還跟幾年前一樣嶄新。他噙著淚水打開《圣經》并一頁一頁地閱讀著。忽然，從書的背面掉出一把鑰匙。鑰匙上掛著一個標簽，上面寫著一個汽車經銷商的名字－－正是他曾渴望的那輛跑車的經銷商。標簽上還有他的畢業日期及“款已付清”的字樣。

How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

我們多少次地與祝福擦肩而過，僅僅因為他們沒有按我們想象中的樣子包裝好？不要在渴望得到沒有的東西時損壞你已經擁有的東西，但要記住一點：你現在所擁有的恰恰正是你曾經一心渴望得到的。

Sometimes we dont realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect "the packaging" to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened.

有時，我們并沒有意識到我們已經擁有或本該擁有的好運，僅僅因為它的外表與我們想象中的有所不同。其實，表面上看起來像是壞運氣的東西或許正是等待開啟的幸運之門。

03愛的禮物

"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked.

“我可以看看我的寶寶嗎？”初為人母的她開心地問道。

When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.

當裹著的嬰兒放到她臂彎里，她掀開裹著嬰兒的布，在看到他的小臉時，她不禁倒吸了一口氣。醫生快速地轉過身，透過醫院的高層窗戶向外看去。嬰兒生下來就沒有耳朵。

Time proved that the babys hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mothers arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.

時間證明嬰兒的聽力毫無問題，只是有損他的相貌。一天，當他匆匆從學校跑回家，撲向母親的懷抱時，她嘆了口氣，意識到他的生活注定會受到一連串的打擊。

He blurted out the tragedy. "A boy, a big boy...called me a freak."

他脫口訴說遭到的不幸：“一個男孩，一個大個子男孩……他喊我怪胎。”

He grew up, handsome except for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.

他長大了，雖然不幸但還是長得挺帥。頗受同學的歡迎，要不是有缺陷，他很可能當了班長。他對文學和音樂很有天賦和潛質。

04父子倆

Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free, sterile and impersonal, the trains run back and forth all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter.

一天早晨去亞特蘭大機場，我看見一輛列車載載著旅客從航空集散站抵達登記處。這類免費列車每天單調、無味地往返其間，沒人覺得有趣。但這個周六我卻聽到了笑聲。

At the front of the first car – looking out the window at the track that lay ahead – were a man and his son.

在頭節車廂的最前面，坐著一個男人和他的兒子。他們正透過窗戶觀賞著一直往前延伸的鐵道。

We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors wee closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer delight.

我們停下來等候旅客下車，之后，車門關上了?！白甙?。拉緊我！”父親說。兒子大約5歲吧，一路喜不自禁。

I know we’re supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days, so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations – and that the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.

車上坐的多半是衣冠楚楚，或公差或度假的白人，只有這對黑人父子穿著樸素簡單。我知道如今我們不該種族歧視，我希望我這樣描述沒人介意。

“Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned his neck to look.

“快看！”父親對兒子說：“看見那位飛行員了嗎？我敢肯定是去開飛機的?！眱鹤由扉L脖子看。

As I got off, I remembered some thing I’d wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight, so I decided to go back.

下了車后我突然想起還得在航空集散站買點東西。離起飛時間還早，于是我決定再乘車回去。

I did – and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn’t been heading for a flight, but had just been riding the shuttle.

正準備上車的時候，我看到那對父子也來了。我意識到他們不是來乘飛機的，而是特意來坐區間列車的。

“I want to ride some more!”

“我還想再坐一會兒！”

“More?” the father said, mock-exasperated but clearly pleased. “You’re not tired?”

“再坐一會兒！”父親嗔怪模仿著兒子的語調，“你還不累？”

“This is fun!” his son said.

“真好玩！”兒子說。

“All right,” the father replied, and when a door opened we all got on.

“好吧，”父親說。車門開了，我們都上了車。

There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.

我們很多父母有能力送孩子去歐洲，去狄斯尼樂園，可孩子還是墮落了。很多父母住豪華別墅，孩子有車有游泳池，可孩子還是學壞了。富人、窮人，黑人、白人，那么多人都輕易學壞了。

“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.

“爸爸，這些人去哪？”兒子問。

“All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each other’s company.

“世界各地?！备赣H回答。機場來來往往的人流或準備遠行，或剛剛歸來。這對父子卻在乘坐區間列車，享受著父子間的親情與陪伴。

So many troubles in this country – crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile obscenities in public, the disappearance of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.

我們正面臨許多問題：犯罪、越來越多的年輕人變得冷漠無情、文化水平下降、公共場合卑劣猥褻上升、起碼的禮貌喪失，等等。我們有那么多的問題要處理。而這里。這位父親卻很在意花上一天陪伴兒子，并在這樣一個星期六的早上，提出這個計劃。

The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn’t cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.

其實答案很簡單：父母愿意花時間，愿意關注，愿意盡心盡職。這不要花一分錢，可這卻是世間無價之寶。

The train picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again.

火車加速了。父親指著窗外說著什么，兒子直樂。

05小小的謊言

I was six years old and my sister, Sally Kay, was a submissive three.For some reason, I thought we needed to earn some money. I decided we should “hire out” as maids. We visited the neighbors, offering to clean houses for them for a quarter cents.

那一年我6歲，聽話的妹妹薩利凱只有3歲。出于某種原因，我認為我們需要掙一些錢。我覺得我們應該去“打工”做女傭。于是，我們去拜訪鄰居們，提出為他們打掃房子，開價25美分。

Reasonable as our offer was, there were no takers. But one neighbor telephoned Mother to let her know what Mary Alice and Sally Kay were doing. Mother had just hung up the phone when we came bursting through the back door, into the kitchen of our apartment.“Girls,”Mother asked, “ Why were you two going around the neighborhood telling people you would clean their houses?”

雖然我們的提議合情合理，但是卻沒有人愿意雇用我們。并且還有一位鄰居打電話給我們的母親，告訴她瑪麗艾麗絲和薩莉凱所做的事情。我們推開后門走進自家廚房的時候，母親剛剛掛上電話?！肮媚飩?，”母親問道，“你們倆為什么告訴鄰居們想給他們打掃房子？”

Mother wasn’t angry with us. In fact, we learned afterwards, she was amused that we had come up wih such an idea. But, for some reason, we both denied having done any such thing. Shocked and terribly hurt that her dear little girls could be such “bold-faced liars,” Mother then told us that Mrs. Jones had just called to tell her we had been to her house and said we would clean it for a quarter.

母親并未生我倆的氣。我們后來才知道，事實上，她為我們冒出那樣的想法而覺得有趣。但不知為何，我倆一致否認做過這樣的事情。沒有想到兩個可愛的小女兒竟然會是“厚顏無恥的撒謊精”，母親大為震驚和傷心。然后，她告訴我瓊斯太太剛剛打過電話來，告訴她我們去過她家并提出25美分為她打掃房子。

Faced with the Truth, we admitted what we had done. Mother said that we had “fibbed.” We had not told the Truth. She was sure that we knew better. She tried to explain why a fib hurt but she didn’t feel that we really understood.

在事實面前，我們只好承認自己的所作所為。母親說我們“撒謊”了。我們沒有說真話。她相信我們是無心之過。她盡量向我們解釋為什么撒謊會傷害別人，但是她覺得我們并未真的明白。

Years later, she told us that the “lesson” she came up with for trying to teach us to be truthful would probably have been frowned upon by child psychologists. The idea came to her in a flash… and our tender-hearted mother told us it was the most difficult lesson she ever taught us. It was a lesson we never forgot.

數年之后，母親告訴我們，兒童心理學家們對她隨后的誠實教育的做法很可能是不贊同的。她當時也是突發奇想……溫柔的母親告訴我們，那是她對我們的教導中最困難的一次，也是我們終生難忘的一課。

After admonishing us, Mother cheerfully began preparing for lunch. As we munched on sandwiches, she asked, “ Would you two like to go to th moives this afternoon?”

在告誡完我們之后，母親開始饒有興致地做午餐。當我們大口咬著三明治的時候，她問我們：“今天下午，你們倆愿意去看電影嗎？”

“Wow! Would we ever!” We wondered what movie would be playing. Mother said The Matinee. Oh, fantastic! We would be going to The matinee! Weren’t we lucky? We got bathed and all dressed up. It was like getting ready for a birthday party. We hurried outside the apartment, not wanting to miss the bus that would take us downtown. On the landing, Mother stunned us by saying, “Girls, we are not going to the movies today.”

“哇！我們當然愿意！”我們猜想要去看什么電影。母親說是《馬蒂尼》。奧，太棒了！我們要去看《馬蒂尼》了！我們不是很幸運嗎？我們洗了澡，穿戴整齊，就像去赴一個生日宴會一樣。我們迅速出了門，去趕開往市區的公共汽車。到了車站，母親的一句話把我們驚呆了：“姑娘們，我們今天不去看電影了?！?/p>

We didn’t hear her right. “What?” we objected. “What do you mean? Aren’t we going to The Matinee? Mommy, you SAID we were going to go the The Matinee!”

我們一下沒反應過來?！笆裁?？”我們抗議道?！笆裁匆馑?？我們不去看《馬蒂尼》了嗎？媽媽，你說過要帶我們去看《馬蒂尼》的！”

Mother stooped and gathered us in her arms. I couldn’t understand why there were tears in her eyes. We still had time to get the bus. But hugging us, she gently explained that this was what a fib felt like.

母親彎下了腰，摟住我倆。我不明白她的眼睛里為什么會有淚。我們還有時間坐公共汽車。但是，她擁抱著我們，輕聲解釋說這就是被謊言欺騙的感覺。

“It is important that what we SAY is TRUE,” Mother said, “ I fibbed to you just now and it felt awful to me. I don’t ever want to fib again and I’m sure you don’t want to fib again either. People must be able to believe each other. Do you understand?”

“說真話是非常重要的，”母親說?！拔覄偛艑δ銈內隽酥e，我覺得糟透了。我不愿意再撒謊了，我相信你們也不愿意再撒謊了。人與人之間必須互相信任。你們明白了嗎？”

We assured her that we understood. We would never forget.

我們向她保證我們明白了。我們永遠也不會忘記。

And since we had learned the leeson. Why not go on to The Matinee? There was still time.

既然我們已經接受了思想教育，為什么不接著去看《馬蒂尼》呢？我們還有時間。

“Not today,” Mother told us. We would go another time.

“不是今天，”母親告訴我們。我們改天去。

That is how, over fifty years ago, my sister and I learned to be truthful. We have never forgotten how much a fib can hurt.

這便是50多年前我和妹妹如何學會了誠實，我們從未忘記一個謊言會造成多大的傷害。

覺得這份學習資料很贊的話，記得點個“贊”哦~