◎ Anonymous
One night when my wife was preparing dinner, our little son took a piece of paper to her which read:
一天晚上,當妻子在廚房準備晚餐時,我們的小兒子拿著一張紙走向他的母親。上面寫道:
For washing the car...........................................$5.00
洗車…………………………5美元
For making my own bed this week...................$1.00
本周整理我的房間…………1美元
Going to the provision shop..............................$0.50
為你去商店…………………0.5美元
Playing with little sister ...................................$0.25
照管小妹妹…………………0.25美元
Taking out the rubbish......................................$1.00
外出倒垃圾…………………1美元
Getting a good report card...............................$5.00
成績報告單獲得良好………5美元
And for sweeping the common corridor.........$2.00
清掃走廊……………………2美元
Total ...............................................................$14.75
總計…………………………14.75美元
His mother looked at him standing there expecting payment. I could see a thousand memories flashed through her mind. So she picked up the pen and turning the paper over, this is what she wrote:
他母親看著兒子滿懷希望地站在那兒等著付款。我能看到她的腦海中翻騰著記憶的浪花。她拿起鋼筆把兒子寫過的紙翻過來,在上面寫道:
For 9 months I carried you, growing
你待在我的腹中,在我身體里生長9個月
inside me.....................................No Charge
……………………………………………不收取任何費用
For the nights I sat up with you, doctored and
我陪伴著你、呵護你、為你祈禱的那些
prayed for you..........................No Charge
晚上……………………………………不收取任何費用
For the toys, food and clothes and wiping
為你準備玩具、食物、衣服,為你擦鼻涕
your nose..................................No Charge
…………………………………………不收取任何費用
When you add it all up, the full cost of
你把以上所有的累加起來,我為你付出的全部
my love....................................No Charge
…………………………………………不收取任何費用
Well, when he finished reading, he had great big tears in his eyes. He looked at his mother and said, “Mummy, I love you.” Then he took the pen and in great big letters wrote on the “bill”: “ALL PAID.”
兒子讀完母親寫的話,雙眼含著豆大的淚花。他看著他的媽媽,說:“媽媽,我愛你。”然后,他拿出鋼筆在他的“賬單”上用大寫字母寫道:“全部還清?!?