1．父亲给儿子的一封信
2.A Boy with a Mission
父给儿子的一封信
Life isn’t a competition. 生命不是一场竞赛
You’re only three years old, and at this point in your life your life you can’t read, much less understand what I’m going to try to tell you in this letter. But I’ve been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I’ve learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you the trials that you will face in the coming years.
你现在仅仅3岁，此刻你还不识字，更不用说让你去理解我接下来在这封信里对你所说的话了。但是我已经苦思冥想了好久，关于你即将面临的人生以及我的生活，我反思我所学会的；思考一个父亲的职责，力图让你为未来岁月中即将面临的困难做好充分的准备。
You won’t be able to understand this letter today ,but someday , when you’re ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you.
你今天并不能理解这封信的含义，但是某一天，当时机成熟，我希望你能在我与你分享的内容当中找寻到些许的智慧和价值。
You are young, and life has yet to take its toll on you, to throw disappointments and heartaches and loneliness and struggles and pain into your path. You have not been worn down yet by long hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life.
你还很年轻，生命还尚未开始摧残你，没有在你的人生道路上布置失望，伤心，孤独，挣扎和苦痛。你还没有被漫长的乏味的工作，被日常生活的打击搞得筋疲力尽。
For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful stage of life. You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their costs and perils. 因此，谢天谢地吧。你正处在人生一个美妙的阶段。还有很多美妙的阶段回来到你面前，但是都不是唾手可得的，你都得付出代价，经历风险。
I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I’ve learned. As with any advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for me might not work for you.
我希望通过分享一些无所学到的最好的道理能帮助你走好人生路。至于任何建议，且把它当做佐料，因为适合我的并不一定适用于你。 Life can be cruel. 生活会很残酷。
There will be people in your life who won’t be very
nice. They’ll tease you because you’re different, or for no good reason. They might try to bully you or hurt you.
你的生活中会有并不友好的人。他们耻笑里因为你不同，而在没有更好的理由。他们可能会欺负你或者伤害你。
There’s not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actually care about you, who make you feel good about yourself . When you find friends like this, hold on to them ,treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them , love them.
对这种人你除了学会和其接触无计可施，同时你也要学会择友，选择那些对你友善的，那些真正的关心你的，那些令你对自己感到很好的人做朋友。当你寻找像这样的朋友，就一定要坚守这份友谊，珍惜他们，花些时间和他们在一起，友善的对待他们并爱他们。
There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won’t always turn out the way you want. This is just another thing you’ll have to learn to deal with. But instead of letting these things get you down, push on. Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls . Learn to turn negative into positives, and you’ll
do much better in lifel.
有时你会遭遇挫折而非成功。生活并不总会如你所愿。这时另一件里需要会处理的事情。但你要挺住向前，而不是让这些事让你陷入低谷。接受挫折并学会坚持，不畏风险地追求你的梦想。学会把消极转化为积极，之后你就能做得好得多。
You will also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love. I hope you don’t have to face this too much , but it happens. Again, not much you can do but to heal, and to move on with your life. Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life, and learn to use them to make you stronger. 你同样会面临心碎时刻以及你深爱的人的抛弃。我希望你无须经历太多此类事件，但如果不幸发生了，再一次，除了慢慢愈合心中的创伤并继续下去你的生活，你别无选择。让这些痛苦成为你通向更美好生活的垫脚石，并学会利用他们让自己更坚强。 But be open to life anyway. 但无论如何，都要张开双臂拥抱生活。
Yes , you’ll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life... But don’t let that close you to new things. Don’t retreat from life, don’t hide or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences , new people.
是的，在你的生命历程中你会遇到残酷，煎熬…….但不要让这些让你
拒绝接受新鲜事物。不要逃避生活，不要躲藏，抑或封闭自己。拥抱新鲜事物，经历全新体验，接触新的人。
You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time .If you shut yourself off from love, you’ll miss out on that woman , and the happiest times of your life.
你或许心碎了10次，但是在第十一次找到至爱。如果你把自己关在爱的门外，你就会错过这个女子，和你生命中最快乐的时光。 You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet ……and then after meeting dozens of jerks, find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don’t open your heart to them, you’ll avoid pain……but also lose out on meeting some incredible people , who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life.
你可能会被你遇到的人耻笑欺负伤害…而在见了一打这种稀奇古怪的人后，你会找到一个真正的朋友。如果你拒绝接触新人群，并不向他们敞开心扉，你会避免受伤……但是同时也失去了认知这些不可思议的人的机会，他们会在你生命最困难的时刻陪伴着你，并带给人生当中最美好的时光。
You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying , you will miss out on the
amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success.
你会失败多次但是如果你让失败达到了你，不再努力，你就会错过那种当你达到成就新高度的难以言喻的成就感。失败是成功之母。 Life isn’t a competition. 生命不是一场竞赛。
You will meet many people who will try to outdo you, in school, in college, at work. They’ll try to have nicer cars ,bigger houses , nicer clothes, cooler gadgets. To them, life is a competition—they have to do better than their peers to be happy.
你会遇到一些人他们总是试图超越你，在中学，大学，在工作中。他们想要拥有更好的车，更大的房子，更好的衣物，更酷的小玩意。对他们来说，生命就是一场竞赛---他们不得不比同辈做得更好来让自己更感到快乐。
Here’s a secret : Life isn’t a competition. It’s a journey. If you spend that journey always trying to impress others, to outdo others, you’re wasting your journey. Instead , learn to enjoy the journey . Make it a journey of Happiness , of constant learning , of continual improvement, of love.
这里有一个秘诀：生命并不是一场竞赛。而是一段旅程。如果你在途
中一直都试图给他人留下深刻印象，超越别人，那你就浪费了这段旅程。与之相反，学会享受它，让之成为快乐之旅，持久的进步之旅以及爱之旅。
Don’t worry about having a nicer car or house or anything material, or even a better-paying job. None of that matters a whit, and none of it will make you happier. You’ll acquire these things and then only want more. Instead , learn to be satisfied with having enough ----and then use the time you would have wasted trying to earn money to buy those things…use that time doing things you love.
不要为拥有一辆更好的车或一所更好的房子或着任何屋子的东西，即便是一份薪水更高的工作操心。这些根本无足轻重，也不会使你快乐。你可能在拥有了这些之后只是想要更多的。与之相反，学会满足你已经拥有的---然后学会利用你原本想要浪费在为挣钱买这些东西的时间去做你真正热爱的事。
Find your passion, and pursue it doggedly. Don’t settle for a job that pays the bills. Life is too short to waste on a job you hate.
找到你的热情，坚持不懈地追求它。别让自己被一个还债的工作所累。生命太短暂了，更不可将之浪费在你所厌恶的工作上。 Love should be your rule. 爱应该成为你的生活准则。
If there’s a single word you should live your life by, it should be this : Love. It might sound corny, I know… but trust me, there’s no better rule in life.
如果让一个词成为你的生活支撑的话，那它应该是爱。也许这听来已是老生常谈，我也清楚…但是请相信我，在没有更好的生活准则了。 Some would live by the rule of success. Their lives will be stressful, unhappy and shallow.
一些人以成功作为生活的准则。他们的生活会很紧张，不开心并且很浅薄。
Others would live by the rule of selfishness---putting their needs above those of others. They will live lonely lives, and will also be unhappy.
另一些人的生活准则是个人利益---他们将个人需要置于他人需要之上。他们孤独一生，终究也不会快乐。
Still others will live by the rule of righteousness---trying to show the right path, and admonishing anyone who doesn’t live by that path. They are concerned with others , but in a negative way, and in the end will only have their own righteousness to live with, and that’s a horrible companion.
还有一些人他们为正义而生---努力展示其道路的正确性，并试图劝服任何一个不以正义为生活准则的人。他们关心他人，却以一种消极的方式，最终怀抱追寻一生的正义而终，而正却是一个糟糕的伴侣。
Live your life by the rule of love. Love your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends , with all of your heart . Give to them what they need, and show them not cruelty nor disapproval nor coldness nor disappointment , but only love. Open your soul to them. 用爱支撑你的生命。爱你的妻子，你的孩子，你的父母亲，你的朋友，全心全意地去爱。给与他们你所需要的，不要流露出任何残忍，不赞同，冷漠或者失望，只有爱。向他们敞开灵魂。
Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbors…your coworkers…strangers…your brothers and sisters in humanity. Offer anyone you meet a smile, a kind word , a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand.
不仅仅爱你深爱的人，也要爱你的邻居…你的同事…甚至陌生人…他们是你广义上的兄弟姐妹。给你遇到的任何一个人一个微笑，一句善语。一个有好的姿势，一只援助之手。
Love not only neighbors and strangers …but your enemy . The person who is cruelest to you, who has been unkind to you…love him. He is a tortured soul, and most in need of your love.
不仅仅爱邻居和陌生人…也要爱你的敌人。对你最残酷的人，对曾经对你不善的人…爱他。他是一个备受折磨的灵魂，最需要你的爱。 And most of all , love yourself . While others may criticize you , learn not to be so hard on yourself , to think
that you’re ugly or dumb or unworthy of love…but to think instead that you are a wonderful human being, worthy of Happiness and love…and learn to love yourself for who you are.
最重要的是爱你自己。当别人批评你时，学着不要强加自己，去认为自己丑，笨或者不值得去爱…而要想着自己是一个很完美的人，值得拥有幸福和真爱…并学会爱现在的自己。
Finally , know that I love you and always will. You are starting out on a weird, scary, daunting, but ultimately incredibly wonderful journey , and I will be there for you when I can.
最后，要知道我爱你并且永远都会，你即将开启一段有点奇怪，令人害怕，令人心悸但最终很不可思议的巧妙旅程，我永远会支持你。祝万事如意。
A Boy with a Mission
In 1945, a 12-year-old boy saw something in a shop window that set his heart racing. But the price—five dollars—was far beyond Reuben Earle's means. Five dollars would buy almost a week's groceries for his family.
0 1945年，一个12岁的男孩在一家商店橱窗里看到一样令他心动的东西，但是——5美
元——远不是鲁本-厄尔能付得起的。5美元几乎够买全家一周的食品呢。
Reuben couldn't ask his father for the money. Everything Mark Earle made through fishing in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada. Reuben's mother, Dora, stretched like elastic to feed and clothe their five children.
鲁本不能向父亲要钱。马克-厄尔的每一分钱都是靠在加拿大纽芬兰的罗伯茨湾捕鱼挣来的。鲁本的母亲多拉，为了不让五个孩子冻着饿着，差不多是一个钱当两个钱用。
Nevertheless, he opened the shop's weathered door and went inside. Standing proud and straight in his flour-sack shirt and washed-out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, “But I don't have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time?”
尽管如此，鲁本还是推开商店那扇久经风雨的门走了进去。他穿着面粉袋改做的衬衫和洗得褪了色的裤子，站得笔直，丝毫不觉困窘。他告诉了店主他想要的东西，又加上一句：“可我现在还没有钱买它，您能为我预留一段时间吗?”
“I'll try,\" the shopkeeper smiled. “Folks around here don't usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.”
“我尽量吧，”店主微笑着说，“这儿的人买起东西来，一般不会花那么大一笔钱的，一时半会儿卖不出去 。”
Reuben respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out into the sunlight with the bay rippling in a freshening wind. There was purpose in his loping stride5. He would raise the five dollars and not tell anybody.
鲁本很有礼貌地碰了碰他的旧帽沿儿，走出店外。阳光下清新的微风吹得罗伯茨湾的海水泛起阵阵涟漪。鲁本迈着大步，下定决心：他要凑齐那5美元，而且不告诉任何人。
Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street, Reuben had an idea. 听到街边传来的铁锤声，鲁本有了主意。
He ran towards the sound and stopped at a construction site. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails purchased in Hessian sacks from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded in the flurry of building, and Reuben knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece.
他循声跑过去，来到一处建筑工地。罗伯茨湾的人喜欢自己建房，用的钉子是从本地一家工厂买的，都用麻袋来装。有时干活时忙乱中麻袋就被随手丢弃，而鲁本知道他可以 5分钱一条把麻袋再卖给工厂。
That day he found two sacks, which he took to the rambling wooden factory and sold to the man in charge of packing nails.
那天，他找了两条麻袋，拿到杂乱的木材厂，卖给为钉子装袋的人。
The boy's hand tightly clutched the five-cent pieces as he ran the two kilometers home.
两公里的路程他是一路跑着回的家，手里紧紧攥着两个5分硬币。
Near his house stood the ancient barn that housed the family's goats and chickens. Reuben found a rusty soda tin and dropped his coins inside. Then he climbed into the loft of the barn and hid the tin beneath a pile of sweet smelling hay. 他家旁边有个颇有年头的谷仓，里面圈着家里的山羊和鸡。鲁本在那里找到一个生锈的装苏打的铁罐，把两枚硬币放了进去。然后，他爬上谷仓的阁楼，把铁罐藏在一堆散发着甜香味的干草下面。
It was dinnertime when Reuben got home. His father sat at the big kitchen table, working on a fishing net. Dora was at the kitchen stove, ready to serve dinner as Reuben took his place at the table.
晚饭时分，鲁本跨进家门。父亲正坐在厨房大餐桌旁摆弄渔网，多拉在灶台边忙碌着，准备开饭。鲁本就在桌边坐下了。
He looked at his mother and smiled. Sunlight from the window gilded her shoulder-length blonde hair. Slim and beautiful, she was the center of the home, the glue that held it together.
他看着妈妈，笑了。窗户透进的夕阳余晖将她棕褐的披肩发染成了金色。苗条、美丽的
母亲是这个家的中心，她像胶水一样使这个家紧紧粘结在一起。
Her chores were never-ending. Sewing clothes for her family on the old Singer treadle machine, cooking meals and baking bread, planting and tending a vegetable garden, milking the goats and scrubbing soiled clothes on a washboard. But she was happy. Her family and their well-being were her highest priority.
母亲的家务活永远也没个完。用老式的“胜家”缝纫机为一家人缝缝补补；要做饭、烤面
包；要照料菜园；要挤羊奶；还要在洗衣板上搓洗脏衣服。可母亲是快乐的，全家人的幸福、健康在她心中是最重要的。
Every day after chores and school, Reuben scoured the town, collecting the hessian nail bags. On the day the two-room school closed for the summer, no student was more delighted than Reuben. Now he would have more time for his mission.
每天放学，做完家务事后，鲁本就在镇上搜寻装钉子的麻袋。只有两间教室的学校开始
放暑假的那天，没人能比鲁本更高兴了。现在他有更多时间去完成他的使命。
All summer long, despite chores at home weeding and watering the garden, cutting wood and fetching water—Reuben kept to his secret task.
整整一个夏天，鲁本除了干家务——给菜园锄草、浇水，砍柴和打水外，始终进行着他
的秘密任务。
Then all too soon the garden was harvested, the vegetables canned and stored, and the school reopened. Soon the leaves fell and the winds blew cold and gusty from the bay. Reuben wandered the streets, diligently searching for his hessian treasures.
转眼菜园里该采收了，蔬菜被装罐腌制后储藏，学校也开学了。再不久， 树叶飘零，海湾吹起阵阵寒风。鲁本在街头徘徊，努力寻找着被他视为宝物的麻袋。
Often he was cold, tired and hungry, but the thought of the object in the shop window
sustained him. Sometimes his mother would ask: “Reuben, where were you? We were waiting for you to have dinner.”
他经常是饥寒交迫，疲惫不堪，但是一想到商店橱窗里的那样东西，他就又有劲儿坚持
下去了。有时妈妈会问 ：“鲁本，你上哪儿啦?我们等你吃饭呢!”
“Playing, Mum. Sorry.” “玩去啦，妈妈。对不起”
Dora would look at his face and shake her head. Boys.
这时候，多拉总会瞧着他的脸，无奈地摇摇头，心想：男孩就是男孩。
Finally spring burst into glorious green and Reuben's spirits erupted. The time had come! He ran into the barn, climbed to the hayloft and uncovered the tin can. He poured the coins out and began to count.
春天终于来了，带来片片绿意，鲁本的精神也随之振奋。是时候了!他跑到谷仓，爬上
草垛，打开铁罐，倒出所有硬币清点起来。
Then he counted again. He needed 20 cents more. Could there be any sacks left any where in town? He had to find four and sell them before the day ended.
0 他又数一遍，还差20美分。镇上哪儿还会有丢弃的麻袋吗?他必须在今天结束之前再找
4条去卖掉。
Reuben ran down Water Street. 鲁本沿着沃特街走着。
The shadows were lengthening when Reuben arrived at the factory. The sack buyer was
about to lock up.
鲁本赶到工厂，厂房的影子已被夕阳拉得很长了。收购麻袋的人正要锁门。
“Mister! Please don't close up yet.”
“先生!请先不要关门。”
The man turned and saw Reuben, dirty and sweat stained. 那人转过身来，看到了脏兮兮、汗涔涔的鲁本。
Come back tomorrow, boy.”“明天再来吧，孩子。”
“Please, Mister. I have to sell the sacks now—please.”The man heard a tremor in Reuben's voice and could tell he was close to tears.
0
“求您了，先生，我必须现在把麻袋卖掉——求您啦。”那人感觉到鲁本的声音在颤抖，知道他快要哭了。
“Why do you need this money so badly?” “你为什么这么急着要这点儿钱?”
“It's a secret.” “这是秘密。”
The man took the sacks, reached into his pocket and put four coins in Reuben's hand. Reuben murmured a thank you and ran home. 那人接过麻袋，手伸进口袋，掏出4个硬币放在鲁本手里。鲁本轻轻说了声“谢谢”就往家跑。
Then, clutching the tin can, he headed for the shop.
接着，他紧紧搂着铁罐，直奔那家商店。
“I have the money,” he solemnly told the owner. “我有钱啦!”他一本正经地告诉店主。
The man went to the window and retrieved Reuben's treasure.
店主走向橱窗，取出鲁本梦寐以求的东西。
He wiped the dust off and gently wrapped it in brown paper. Then he placed the parcel in Reuben's hands.
他掸去灰尘，用牛皮纸把它小心包好，然后把这个小包放到鲁本手上。
Racing home, Reuben burst through the front door. His mother was scrubbing the kitchen stove. “Here, Mum! Here!”Reuben exclaimed as he ran to her side. He placed a small box in her work roughened hand.
鲁本一路狂奔到家，冲进前门。妈妈正在厨房擦洗灶台。“瞧，妈妈!瞧!”鲁本一边跑向她一
边大叫着。他把一个小盒子放在她因劳作而变得粗糙的手上。
She unwrapped it carefully, to save the paper. A blue-velvet jewel box appeared. Dora lifted the lid, tears beginning to blur her vision.
为了不损坏包装纸，她小心翼翼地把它拆开，一个蓝色天鹅绒的首饰盒映入眼帘。多拉打开盒盖，泪水顿时模糊了她的双眼。
In gold lettering on a small, almond-shaped brooch was the word Mother. 在一个小巧的心状胸针上刻着金字：母亲。
It was Mother's Day, 1946. 那是1946年的母亲节。
Dora had never received such a gift; she had no finery except her wedding ring. Speechless, she smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms.
多拉从未收到过这样的礼物；除了结婚戒指外，她没有别的饰物。哽咽无语，她把儿子一把揽入怀中，脸上洋溢着动人的光彩。
因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容