雙語(yǔ) ● The Little Girl Who Dared to Wish　許愿的小女孩

The Little Girl Who Dared to Wish　許愿的小女孩

◎ Alan D. Shultz

As Amy Hagadorn rounded the corner across the hall from her classroom, she collided with a tall boy from the fifth grade running in the opposite direction.

在艾米繞過(guò)她教室對(duì)面的走廊的拐角時(shí)，她迎面撞到了一個(gè)五年級(jí)的高個(gè)男孩。

“Watch it, squirt.” The boy yelled as he dodged around the little third-grader. Then, with a smirk on his face, the boy took hold of his right leg and mimicked the way Amy limped when she walked.

“看路，小個(gè)子?！蹦悄泻⒃诒荛_(kāi)這個(gè)三年級(jí)的學(xué)生時(shí)大叫道，然后，臉上帶著厭惡的笑容，把手按在右腿上，模仿著艾米走路一瘸一拐的樣子。

Amy closed her eyes. Ignore him, she told herself as she headed for her classroom.

艾米閉上了眼睛。“不理會(huì)他。”她在返回教室時(shí)對(duì)自己說(shuō)。

But at the end of the day, Amy was still thinking about the tall boy’s mean teasing. It wasn’t as if her were the only one. It seemed that ever since Amy started the third grade, someone teased her every single day. Kids teased her about her speech or her limping. Amy was tired of it. Sometimes, even in a classroom full of other students, the teasing made her feel all alone.

但是在那天結(jié)束時(shí)，艾米仍然想著那個(gè)高個(gè)子男孩的嘲笑。他并不是唯一一個(gè)做出這種事的人。好像自從艾米上三年級(jí)以后，每天都有人嘲笑她。孩子們嘲笑她的講話或是她的跛行。艾米受夠了這些。有時(shí)，即使在坐滿了學(xué)生的教室里，別人的嘲笑也會(huì)使她感到孤單無(wú)助。

Back home at the dinner table that evening, Amy was quiet. Her mother knew that things were not going well at school. That’s why Patti Hagadorn was happy to have some exciting news to share with her daughter.

那晚，回到家里，艾米坐在餐桌旁沉默不語(yǔ)。她的母親知道肯定是在學(xué)校里遇到不順心的事了。所以，派蒂?zèng)Q定告訴她女兒一些激動(dòng)人心的消息。

“There’s a Christmas wish contest on the radio station,” Amy’s mom announced. “Write a letter to Santa, and you might win a prize. I think someone at this table with blonde curly hair should enter.”

“電臺(tái)里有一個(gè)圣誕節(jié)愿望競(jìng)賽的節(jié)目，”艾米的母親告訴她?！敖o圣誕老人寫(xiě)封信，或許你就能得到獎(jiǎng)品。我想，坐在餐桌旁的某個(gè)金發(fā)卷毛的人應(yīng)該參加?！?

Amy giggled. The contest sounded like fun. She started thinking about what she wanted most for Christmas.

艾米咯咯地笑了。這個(gè)競(jìng)賽聽(tīng)起來(lái)很有趣。她開(kāi)始思考她最想要的圣誕節(jié)禮物。

A smile took hold of Amy when the idea first came to her. Out came pencil and paper, and Amy went to work on her letter. “Dear Santa Claus,” she began.

當(dāng)艾米第一次想起這個(gè)主意時(shí)，她的臉上掛滿了微笑。她拿出鉛筆和紙，然后開(kāi)始寫(xiě)信。“親愛(ài)的圣誕老人，”她寫(xiě)下開(kāi)頭。

While Amy worked away at her best printing, the rest of the family tried to guess what she might ask from Santa. Amy’s sister, Jamie, and Amy’s mom both thought a three-foot Barbie doll would top Amy’s wish list. Amy’s dad guessed a picture book. But Amy wasn’t ready to reveal her secret Christmas wish just then. Here is Amy’s letter to Santa, just as she wrote it that night:

當(dāng)艾米正起勁地寫(xiě)作文時(shí)，家里的其他人試圖猜測(cè)她可能向圣誕老人要求什么。艾米的姐姐，杰米，和艾米的媽媽都認(rèn)為3英尺大的芭比娃娃是艾米最想要的東西。艾米的爸爸認(rèn)為是一本圖畫(huà)書(shū)。但是艾米當(dāng)時(shí)還不想告訴他們她的秘密圣誕節(jié)愿望。以下就是艾米寫(xiě)給圣誕老人的信，就是她在那晚寫(xiě)的：

Dear Santa Claus,

親愛(ài)的圣誕老人：

My name is Amy. I am nine years old. I have a problem at school. Can you help me Santa? Kids laugh at me because of the way I walk and run and talk. I have cerebral palsy. I just want one day where no one laughs at me or makes fun of me.

我的名字叫艾米。我9歲了。我在學(xué)校有一個(gè)麻煩。你能幫我嗎，圣誕老人？孩子們嘲笑我走路、跑步和講話的方式。我患有腦癱。我只想擁有一天，一個(gè)沒(méi)人笑話我、取笑我的一天。

Love, Amy

愛(ài)你的，艾米

At radio station WJLT in Fort Wayne, Indiana, letter poured in for the Christmas wish contest. The workers had fun reading about all the different presents that boys and girls from across the city wanted for Christmas.

在印地安那州的韋恩堡WJLT廣播電臺(tái)，參加圣誕節(jié)愿望競(jìng)賽的信件蜂擁而至。工作人員開(kāi)心地讀著來(lái)自全市的男孩女孩寄來(lái)的各種各樣的圣誕節(jié)禮物信件。

When Amy’s letter arrived at the radio station, manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He knew cerebral palsy was a muscle disorder that might confuse the schoolmates of Amy’s who didn’t understand her disability. He thought it would be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special third-grader and her unusual wish. Mr. Tobin called up the local newspaper.

當(dāng)艾米的信到達(dá)電臺(tái)時(shí)，經(jīng)理李·托賓仔細(xì)地閱讀了內(nèi)容。他知道腦癱是一種肌肉紊亂的病癥，所以可能艾米的同學(xué)從外表看不出她有殘疾。他認(rèn)為讓韋恩堡的市民聽(tīng)到這位特別的三年級(jí)的故事以及她非一般的愿望是件好事。托賓先生給當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)紙打了電話。

The next day, a picture of Amy and her letter to Santa made the front page of the News Sentinel. The story spread quickly. All across the country, newspapers and radio and television stations reported the story of the little girl in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who asked for such a simple yet remarkable Christmas gift—just one day without teasing.

第二天，艾米的照片和她寫(xiě)給圣誕老人的信登上了《新聞前哨》的首頁(yè)。故事迅速傳開(kāi)了。全國(guó)的報(bào)紙、廣播和電視臺(tái)都報(bào)道了這個(gè)印地安那州韋恩堡的小女孩的故事，她要求的只是這樣一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單卻值得注意的圣誕節(jié)禮物——只是沒(méi)有取笑的一天。

Suddenly the postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house. Envelopes of all sizes addressed to Amy arrived daily from children and adults all across the nation. They came filled with holiday greetings and words of encouragement.

突然，郵差成了艾米家的?？?。每天都有各種型號(hào)的信件寄給艾米，來(lái)自于全國(guó)的小孩和大人們。信里充滿了節(jié)日的問(wèn)候和鼓勵(lì)的話語(yǔ)。

During that unforgettable Christmas season, over two thousand people from all over the world sent Amy letters of friendship and support.

在那個(gè)難以忘懷的圣誕節(jié)期間，世界范圍內(nèi)超過(guò)兩千人寄給艾米信件以表達(dá)友情和支持。

Amy and her family read every single one. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy glimpsed a world full of people who truly cared about each other.

艾米和她的家人閱讀了每一封信。有一些來(lái)信者也身患?xì)埣玻幸恍┤嗽谛r(shí)候也被嘲笑過(guò)。每位來(lái)信者都向艾米表達(dá)了一種特別的信息。通過(guò)來(lái)自陌生人的卡片和信件，艾米瞥見(jiàn)了一個(gè)充滿了真正的互相關(guān)懷的人類(lèi)社會(huì)。

She realized that no amount or form of teasing could ever make her feel lonely again.

她認(rèn)識(shí)到，再多或者再惡毒的嘲笑都不能再使她感到孤單了。

Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to carry her head high. Lynn, a sixth-grader from Texas, sent this message:

很多人都被艾米勇敢地說(shuō)出心聲而感動(dòng)。其他人則鼓勵(lì)她不去理睬嘲笑，勇敢面對(duì)。林恩，一位來(lái)自德克薩斯州的六年級(jí)生，寄給了她一封信：

“I would like to be your friend,” she wrote, “and if you want to visit me, we could have fun. No one would make fun of us, cause if they do, we will not even hear them.”

“我希望和你交個(gè)朋友，”她寫(xiě)道，“如果你想來(lái)看望我，我們可以一起玩。沒(méi)人會(huì)取笑我們，因?yàn)?，如果他們?nèi)⌒?，我們?tīng)都不會(huì)聽(tīng)到。”

Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne Elementary School. Additionally, everyone at school got another bonus. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel.

艾米的確實(shí)現(xiàn)了她的愿望，在南韋恩堡小學(xué)度過(guò)了沒(méi)有取笑的一天。還有，學(xué)校的每個(gè)人都學(xué)到了額外的東西。教師和學(xué)生們一起討論取笑他人會(huì)給人帶來(lái)多么不好的感覺(jué)。

That year the Fort Wayne mayor officially proclaimed December 21 as Amy Jo Hagadorn Day throughout the city. The mayor explained that by daring to make such a simple wish, Amy taught a universal lesson.

那一年，韋恩堡市長(zhǎng)正式宣布12月21號(hào)作為全市的艾米日。市長(zhǎng)解釋說(shuō)，因?yàn)榘赘矣谧龀鲞@樣一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的許愿，她讓大家都學(xué)到了特別的一課。

“Everyone,” said the mayor, “wants and deserves to be treated with respect, dignity and warmth.”

“所有人，”市長(zhǎng)說(shuō)道，“都希望得到并且應(yīng)該得到尊重、尊嚴(yán)和友善?！?

超多雙語(yǔ)閱讀，盡在聽(tīng)力課堂