爱的价值

　　爱的价值 The Value of Love　　The cheerful girl with 1)bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout 2)stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink 3)foil box. “Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them” Please, mommy, please!”　　这个兴高采烈的女孩差不多五岁了，留着一头富有弹性的金黄卷发。她正和妈妈在收银台旁排队等候交钱，忽然，她看见一串闪闪发光的白珍珠，装在一个粉红色的金属盒里。“噢，妈咪，能给我买那个吗？妈咪，求你了！”　　Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face. “A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them, I’ll think of some extra 4)chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another 5)crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”　　她的妈妈迅速看了看那个小金属盒的背后，然后回过头望着女儿仰起的脸孔里那双充满恳求的蓝眼睛。“1.95美元。几乎要2美元。如果你真想要，我会给你多一些家务做。很快你就能存够钱给自己买了。再过一个星期就是你的生日，奶奶也许会给你一张崭新的一美元钞票。”　　As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny 6)bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick 7)dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.　　詹妮一回到家就把储钱罐里的钱全倒了出来，数了数，一共17美分。饭后，她做家务比往常更勤快了。她还跑到邻居家问麦克詹姆斯太太，愿不愿意花10美分让她帮忙采蒲公英。她生日那天，奶奶真的给了她一张崭新的一美元纸币。最后，她终于存够了钱买那串项链。　　Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere—Kindergarten, 8)Sunday school, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a 9)bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.　　詹妮很喜爱这一串珍珠项链。戴上它，她便感到自己打扮得很漂亮，感到自己很成熟。她走到哪儿都戴着它——上幼儿园，星期天上主日学校，甚至是在睡觉的时候，只有游泳或洗泡泡浴时才取下。妈妈说，如果那些珍珠湿了水，就可能染绿她的脖子。　　Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me”　　詹妮有一个慈爱的爸爸。每晚她临睡前，爸爸总会停下手头上的工作，上楼来给她读一个故事。有一天晚上，当爸爸讲完了故事，他问詹妮：“你爱爸爸吗？”　　“Oh ye Daddy. You know that I love you.”　　“嗯，爸爸，你知道我爱你。”　　“Then give me your pearls.”　　“那把你的那条珍珠项链送给爸爸吧。”　　“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess—the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy” The one you gave me. She’s my favorite.”　　“噢，爸爸，不要是珍珠项链嘛。我给你我百宝箱里的公主——那匹长着粉红色尾巴的白马。爸爸你记起了吗？那是你送给我的。她是我最喜欢的宝贝。”　　“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night.”And he 10)brushed her cheek with a kiss.　　“好吧，甜心。爸爸爱你。晚安。”他轻吻了一下女儿的脸颊。　　About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again, “Do you love me”　　过了一个星期，读完故事，詹妮的爸爸又问：“你爱爸爸吗？”　　“Daddy, you know I love you.”　　“爸爸，你知道我爱你。”　　“Then give me your pearls.”　　“那把你的那条珍珠项链送给爸爸吧。”　　“Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow 11)blanket that matches her 12)sleeper.”　　“噢，爸爸，不要是珍珠项链嘛。我给你我的娃娃，我生日收到的那个新的。她很漂亮，你还可以要那条和她睡衣颜色很相衬的黄色毛毯。”　　“That’s okay. Sleep well, little one. Daddy loves you.”And as alway he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.　　“好吧。宝贝，睡个好觉。爸爸爱你。”像往常一样，他轻吻了一下女儿的脸颊。　　A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed 13)Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.　　过了几夜，爸爸走进詹妮的房间，她正盘腿坐在床上。爸爸走近时发现，詹妮的下巴颤抖着，一颗泪珠无声地滑落她的脸颊。　　“What is it, Jenny” What’s the matter”?　　“怎么了，詹妮？发生什么事了？”　　Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little 14)quiver, she finally said, “Here, Daddy. It’s for you.”　　詹妮没有答话，只把小手举到爸爸面前。她摊开手掌，露出她那串小小的珍珠项链。她微微颤抖了一下，最终说道：“爸爸，这是送给你的。”　　With tears gathering in his own eye Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the 15)dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue 16)velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.　　爸的眼里满是泪水，慈爱的他伸出一只手，拿起珍妮手里那串在廉价商店里买的项链，另一只手则伸进自己的口袋里，拿出一个用天鹅绒包裹着的蓝色盒子，里面装着一串用天然珍珠串成的项链递给詹妮。他一直带着这串项链。他只是等待女儿放弃那串廉价的珍珠项链，好送给她这份天然的珍品。