雙語(yǔ)對(duì)照 ● The Shoe Tacks　鞋釘

The Shoe Tacks　鞋釘

◎ Tom Cawley

The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard working was he that at times he would make the sparks fly from his hammer. The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith everyday and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman[64]worked.

瓊斯是個(gè)勤勞的鐵匠，常常一整天都在他的店里工作。他工作非常努力，他的錘子時(shí)常會(huì)火花四濺。史密斯先生的兒子，一個(gè)很有錢(qián)的鄰居，幾乎每天都來(lái)看鐵匠工作。他喜歡觀(guān)看這位工匠工作，而且一看就是幾小時(shí)。

“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks, even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.” The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.

“年輕人，你為什么不嘗試一下如何制作鞋釘呢，哪怕只是用來(lái)消磨時(shí)間？”鐵匠說(shuō)，“誰(shuí)知道呢，有一天，它或許就會(huì)對(duì)你有用呢?！蹦莻€(gè)懶孩子開(kāi)始想看看自己到底能做什么。但是，僅僅經(jīng)過(guò)小小的實(shí)踐練習(xí)，他就發(fā)現(xiàn)自己變得非常熟練，很快他就做出了最好的鞋釘。

Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to take up residence in another country. It so happened that in this village there were numerous[65]shoemakers who were spending a lot of money to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.

老史密斯先生去世了，他的兒子則因?yàn)閼?zhàn)爭(zhēng)而失去了所有的財(cái)產(chǎn)。他不得不離開(kāi)家園，被迫住在了另一個(gè)國(guó)家。事情就是這樣巧合，這個(gè)國(guó)家的這個(gè)地區(qū)急需大量軍鞋，所以這個(gè)村子里有很多鞋匠，而他們總是花費(fèi)很多錢(qián)購(gòu)買(mǎi)鞋釘。甚至有時(shí)即使付了很高的價(jià)錢(qián)，也買(mǎi)不到他們想要的鞋釘。

Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain[66]with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in his workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village. “How funny it seems,” he used to say, “Even making tacks can bring a fortune. My trade is more useful to me than were all my former riches.”

在這食不果腹的艱難時(shí)刻，我們的小史密斯先生想起了自己從前學(xué)過(guò)制鞋釘這門(mén)手藝，突然冒出了一個(gè)想法，和這些鞋匠們做一個(gè)交易。他告訴他們，如果他們幫他成立一個(gè)店鋪，他就可以做鞋釘。結(jié)果，鞋匠們對(duì)他的這一提議欣喜若狂。過(guò)了不久，史密斯先生發(fā)現(xiàn)他做的鞋釘是村里最好的?！翱雌饋?lái)可真有意思，”他常常會(huì)說(shuō)，“即便是做鞋釘也會(huì)帶來(lái)財(cái)富。與我以前所有的財(cái)富相比，我現(xiàn)在的生意更有益?！?

美麗語(yǔ)錄

Give everything a shot. You never know what (or who) is going to change your life.

任何事情都應(yīng)該去嘗試一下，因?yàn)槟銦o(wú)法知道，什么樣的事或人將會(huì)改變你的一生。

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