The Good Turn 好事

Manisha Deveshvar 張寧譯

Every time Gina walked down the lane1 where she lived， some neighbour or the other would say that“the brat2”was off to some place.

每次吉娜沿著她住的小巷走的時(shí)候，都會(huì)有鄰居說“這個(gè)頑劣的孩子”要去某個(gè)地方。

The six-year-old was the only child of her parents and they spoilt3 her totally. Even when she was a small child， her parents had never refused her anything. And she， in turn， always made sure that she got what she wanted.

這個(gè)六歲的孩子是她父母唯一的孩子，而他們把她寵壞了。即使在她很小的時(shí)候，她的父母也從未拒絕過她任何事情。反過來，她總是一定要得到她想要的。

One day， Ginas mother， Nitya Mehta， suddenly noticed that her daughter was not ready to share anything with her friends—be it a book， a toy or something toeat.

一天，吉娜的母親尼提亞·梅塔突然注意到，她的女兒并不準(zhǔn)備與她的好朋友分享任何東西——無論是書、玩具或是吃的東西。

She discovered something else as well. Most children did not like to play withher daughter. They said she bossed4 them around and made them cry.

她還發(fā)現(xiàn)了另一件事。大多數(shù)孩子不喜歡和她的女兒一起玩。他們說她對(duì)他們指手畫腳并且惹哭了他們。

Ginas mother realized that it was their fault5 that Gina was behaving likethis. For， hadnt they spoilt her by giving her anything and everything she askedfor？ Would Gina be able to make good friends and learn to share things withthem？ She would soon know， for Gina was now admitted6 to a class in a properschool.

吉娜的母親意識(shí)到吉娜這樣的表現(xiàn)是他們的錯(cuò)。因?yàn)椋麄儗?duì)她有求必應(yīng)難道沒有寵壞她嗎？吉娜能交到好朋友并學(xué)會(huì)與他們分享嗎？她很快就會(huì)知道，因?yàn)榧痊F(xiàn)在進(jìn)了一個(gè)正規(guī)學(xué)校的班級(jí)。

Everyone in her class admitted that Gina was very intelligent. But she hadno friends until Rita joined her class. New to the city and too shy to make anyfriends， Rita did not mind being taken under Gina爺s wing7. Though knowingGina， it was more of bossing around. But at least she had someone to play with.

班上的每個(gè)人都承認(rèn)吉娜很聰明。但在麗塔加入她的班級(jí)之前，她沒有朋友。麗塔剛到這座城市，又羞于結(jié)交朋友，因此她不介意接受吉娜的照顧。雖然在認(rèn)識(shí)吉娜后，更多的情況是指手畫腳，但至少她有人陪她玩。

One day， the teacher scolded8 ?Rita for doing the math problems withoutthinking. The little girl cried because the whole class had laughed at her. For theteacher had patiently explained how to do the sums， but Rita was just not able tounderstand.

一天，老師責(zé)罵麗塔在做算術(shù)題時(shí)沒有動(dòng)腦子。這個(gè)小女孩哭了，而全班同學(xué)都嘲笑她。因?yàn)槔蠋熌托牡亟忉屃巳绾巫鏊阈g(shù)，但麗塔就是不明白。

Gina told her mother about Rita crying in class.“Why dont you try to explain to her simply？”asked her mother.“She likes you very much and if you teach her， she will understand.”

吉娜告訴了她母親麗塔在課堂上哭的事。“你為什么不試著簡(jiǎn)單地給她解釋一下？”她母親問，“她非常喜歡你，如果你教她，她會(huì)弄懂的。”

“Mummy， I dont have time to waste. What can I do if she is dumb9？”saidGina.“But Rita is your friend and if you dont help her， who will？”scolded her mother. Then she decided to tell Gina the story of an ant and a dove10.gzslib202204041757

“媽媽，我沒時(shí)間去浪費(fèi)。如果她很蠢，我該怎么辦？”吉娜說。“但是麗塔是你的朋友，如果你不幫助她，誰(shuí)會(huì)幫她呢？”她母親訓(xùn)斥道。然后她決定給吉娜講一只螞蟻和一只鴿子的故事。

“One day， an ant fell into a stream11 and was trying hard to save herself. A dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked12 a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to the ant. The ant climbed onto it and floated safely to the bank，” went the story.

“有一天，一只螞蟻掉進(jìn)小溪里，拼命想自救。一只鴿子停在懸在水面上的樹上。它摘下一片葉子，讓它落到小溪里靠近螞蟻的地方。螞蟻爬上葉子，安全地漂到岸邊?！惫适率沁@樣講的。

“A little later， a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree， preparing to throw a net over the unsuspecting13 dove. The ant knew what he was planning and stung14 him in the foot. The birdcatcher yelled15 out in pain and the noise made the dove fly away.”

“過了一會(huì)兒，一個(gè)捕鳥人走了過來，站在樹下，準(zhǔn)備向毫無戒心的鴿子撒一張網(wǎng)。螞蟻知道他在計(jì)劃什么，并在他的腳上刺了一下。觀鳥人痛苦地大叫，叫聲讓鴿子飛走了?！?/p>

“Did you understand the story， Gina？”asked her mother.“It means that if you do a good turn， you will only get good in return.”Gina said， “What a silly story， mummy. It is for little children， and I have grown big.”

“你明白這個(gè)故事了嗎，吉娜？”她母親問道，“這意味著如果你做了好事，你只會(huì)得到善報(bào)?！奔日f：“媽媽，這是一個(gè)多么愚蠢的故事啊。這是給小孩子聽的，而我已經(jīng)長(zhǎng)大了?！?/p>

Then Ginas mother decided to act tough16.“If you do not help her out， I willnot let you watch cartoons for a week.”

然后吉娜的母親決定表現(xiàn)得強(qiáng)硬一些?！叭绻悴粠退乙恢軆?nèi)都不會(huì)讓你看卡通片?！?/p>

Very unhappy， Gina helped Rita. And wonder of wonders， Rita understood， forGina knew the trick of explaining simply. The teacher was happy that Rita hadfinally understood the sums and praised her in front of the class. Rita was excitedand told everyone what a good friend Gina was. But Gina preferred to forget it assomething unpleasant she had been forced17 to do.

吉娜非常不高興地幫助了麗塔。奇跡中的奇跡，麗塔弄明白了，因?yàn)榧戎篮?jiǎn)單解釋的訣竅。老師很高興麗塔終于弄懂了算術(shù)，并在全班同學(xué)面前表?yè)P(yáng)了她。麗塔很激動(dòng)，并告訴大家吉娜是個(gè)多么好的朋友。但吉娜寧愿忘記這件事，因?yàn)檫@是她被迫做的一件不愉快的事。

Meanwhile，? Rita? had? been? wondering? how? she? could? repay? her friend. The opportunity18 came sooner than she thought.

與此同時(shí)，麗塔一直在想如何報(bào)答她的朋友。機(jī)會(huì)來得比她想象的要快。

One day， in a fit of anger， Gina called one of the younger girls in the school a “stupid idiot”（these words were banned19 in the school）. She also pushed the girl. The girl fell and hurt her knee.

一天，吉娜一時(shí)氣憤，稱學(xué)校里一個(gè)小一點(diǎn)的女孩為“愚蠢的白癡”（這些詞在學(xué)校里被禁止使用）。她還推了那個(gè)女孩。女孩摔倒了，還弄傷了膝蓋。

The matter was reported to the headmaster. The headmaster scolded Gina in front of the entire school during the morning assembly20. Not only that， the headmaster told Gina to stay back for two hours after school and pick up the waste paper from each and every classroom during detention21.gzslib202204041757

這件事被人報(bào)告給了校長(zhǎng)。校長(zhǎng)在晨會(huì)上當(dāng)著全校師生的面批評(píng)了吉娜。不僅如此，校長(zhǎng)還讓吉娜放學(xué)后留校兩個(gè)小時(shí)，在課后留校期間撿每間教室的廢紙。

Gina was heartbroken. She was a proud girl and could not bear the thoughtof being humiliated22. Right now all she wanted was for the ground to open upand swallow her so that she wouldnthave to show her face to anyone.

吉娜很傷心。她是一個(gè)驕傲的女孩，一想到會(huì)丟臉就受不了?，F(xiàn)在她只想地上有條縫讓她鉆進(jìn)去，這樣她就不必在任何人面前露面了。

After school finished， Gina was left all alone. And then she did what she had been holding back the whole day—she sobbed23 and sobbed and sobbed.

放學(xué)后，吉娜一個(gè)人留了下來。然后她做了她忍了一整天的事情——她哭個(gè)不停。

That is when Rita found her best friend. She stayed back with Ginaand helped her clean the school. Gina remembered the story of the ant anddove.

麗塔就是在那個(gè)時(shí)候找到她最好的朋友的。她和吉娜一起留了下來，幫她打掃了學(xué)校。吉娜回想起了螞蟻和鴿子的故事。

From that day， Gina and Rita became the best of friends.

從那天起，吉娜和麗塔成了最好的朋友。

（英語(yǔ)原文選自：pitara.com）

1. lane []? 小路

2. brat []? 乳臭未干的小孩;頑童

3. spoil []? 溺愛

4. boss []? 對(duì)……頤指氣使

5. fault []? 錯(cuò)誤;責(zé)任

6. admit []? 承認(rèn);接收（入學(xué)）

7. take under ones wing 庇護(hù);特別關(guān)照某人

8. scold []? .責(zé)罵，訓(xùn)斥

9. dumb []? 蠢的

10. dove []? .鴿子

11. stream []? 小河，小溪

12. pluck []? 摘，掐

13. unsuspecting []? 不知情的

14. sting []? 叮，刺，蜇

15. yell []? 叫喊

16. tough []? 強(qiáng)硬的，嚴(yán)厲的

17. force []? 強(qiáng)迫

18. opportunity []? 時(shí)機(jī)，機(jī)會(huì)

19. ban []? .禁止

20. assembly []? 集會(huì)

21. detention []? （作為懲罰的）課后留校

22. humiliate []? .羞辱，使蒙羞