雙語散文:A Brother Like That(哥哥的心願)

【英文原文】


A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as Christmas present. On Christmas eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was looking around the shining new car, admiring it.
"Is this your car, Mister?" he said.
Paul nodded, "My brother gave it to me for Christmas."
The boy was astounded, "You mean your brother gave it to you, and didn't cost you anything?"
"Boy, I wish..." he hesitated.
Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he has a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paull all the way down his heels.
"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then inpulsivly he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my car?"

"Oh, yes. I'd love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?"

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbours that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again.
"Would you stop at those with two steps?" the boy asked.
He ran up stairs. Then in a little while, Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He set him down on the bottom step. Then a sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.
"There she is, buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and didn't cost hime a cent. And some day, I'm gonna give you one just like it. Then you can see for yourself all the prettiest things in the windows that I was trying to tell you about."
Paul got off and lifted the lad into the front of his car. The shinning eyed old brother crimbed in beside him. And three of them began a memorable holiday ride.
That Christmas eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant, when he said, "It is blessed to give..."

【中文譯文】

我有一個名字叫保羅的朋友，在聖誕節那天收到了一份來自他哥哥的禮物，一輛轎車。在聖誕前夜，當保羅從他的辦公室走出來時，一個街頭頑童正圍着他的新車打轉地看，非常羨慕。

“這是您的汽車嗎，先生？”他說。

保羅點了點頭，“我哥哥給我的聖誕禮物。

小男孩詫異了，“你是說你哥哥給你的，不用花你一分錢？”

“兄弟，我希望...”他遲疑了。

保羅當然清楚他希望什麼，他希望他也有個那樣的哥哥。但這個小傢伙說的話，使保羅大吃了一驚。
“我希望，”小男孩繼續說道，“我可以做一個那樣的哥哥。”

保羅驚奇地看着小男孩，然後激動地說了句，“你想不想做我的車去兜兜風？”
“哦，想！我喜歡！”

跑了一小段路後，小男孩眼光水靈閃閃地說道，“先生，您可以把車開到我家門前嗎？”
保羅微微一笑。他覺得他知道這個小傢伙想要幹什麼，他想要向他的鄰居炫耀他可以坐一輛大汽車回家。但是，保羅又一次想錯了。

“您可以在那有兩個臺階的房子前聽下嗎？” 小男孩問道。

他跑着上樓去了。然後一小會兒，保羅聽到他回來的腳步聲，但他沒再用跑的了。保羅看見他正攙扶着他的跛腳的弟弟，他扶着他坐在最底層的臺階上，然後擁抱着他，指着這部車。

“小弟，那就是我在樓上跟你說的那部車。他哥哥給他的聖誕禮物，不用花他一分錢。將來某天我也要給你一部像那樣的車，那樣你就可以自己去看我以前盡力想讓你知道的那些窗邊的聖誕飾品了。”

保羅下車把跛腳的小孩抱上了車的前座，他的眼睛水靈靈的哥哥爬上了車，坐到了他旁邊。然後他們三個開始一段令人難忘的旅程。
那個聖誕前夜，保羅收穫了很多，他真正體會了耶穌所說的那句話，“施捨比接受更有福...”