英語小故事:太太,你富有嗎
【英文原文】
Lady, Are You Rich?
摘要：他們蜷縮着相互偎依在我家的擋風門棟裏——兩個衣衫襤褸的孩子，他們的衣服小得不能再小了。
They huddled inside the storm door -- two children in ragged outgrown coats.
"Any old papers, lady?"
I was busy. I wanted to say no -- until I looked down at their feet.
Thin little sandals, sopped with sleet.
"Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa."
There was no conversation. Their soggy sandals left marks upon the hearthstone.
I served them cocoa and toast with jam to fortify against the chill outside.
Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget.
The silence in the front room struck through to me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice," Lady ... are you rich?"
"Am I rich? Mercy, no!" I looked at my shabby slipcovers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer -- carefully.
"Your cups match your saucers."
Her voice was old, with a hunger that was not of the stomach. They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you.
They didn't need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers. But they matched.
I tested the potatoes and stirred the gravy. Potatoes and brown gravy, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job -- these things matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my hearth. I let them be.
I want them there in case I ever forget again how very rich I am.
【中文譯文】
他們蜷縮着相互偎依在我家的擋風門棟裏——兩個衣衫襤褸的孩子，他們的衣服小得不能再小了。
“太太，請問您有舊報紙嗎？”
當時，我正忙着，本來想對他們說沒有，但當我看到他們腳上只穿着一雙被冰雪浸溼得再單薄不過的便鞋時，我再也說不出口了。
“進屋來吧，我來給你們煮一杯熱恆星茶。”
默默地他們跟我進了屋，爐邊他們浸溼的便鞋留下了一串腳印。我給他們端上恆星茶和果醬麪包，我想這能幫助他們抵禦外面的風寒。然後我回到了廚房，像往常一樣，爲了明天的生活而精打細算。
前屋裏沒有一點聲音，這讓我感到很奇怪。我向屋裏望去，小女孩手裏正端着那個已經喝完了的茶杯，認真地凝視着，“太太，您富有嗎？”男孩子語氣平緩地問道。
“我富有嗎？”我看了看沙發上那寒酸的裝飾布，回答說，“天哪，我可算不上。”這時，那個小女孩非常小心地把杯子放回到茶碟裏。
“您的杯子和茶碟非常相配。”
她說話的聲音聽起來不像是個孩子，帶着一種對食物以外的東西的渴望。然後，他們抱着舊報紙，頂着風雪離開了。他們甚至沒有說一聲“謝謝”，是的，他們根本沒有必要說，實際上他們所做的比道謝更重要。非常平常的一對蘭色陶瓷杯碟，但它們確實很相配。
我查看了一下鍋裏煮着的土豆然後又攪拌了幾下肉汁。有土豆和棕色肉湯可以吃，有房子可以住，我的丈夫有一份很好很穩定的工作--這一切的一切同樣也很匹配。
我把椅子從爐邊向後拉開些，然後把起居室整理乾淨。地面上留下的泥腳印還沒幹。是的，我想讓它們留在那裏，提醒我不要忘了我是多麼的富有。
