本帖最后由 ヮ成熟、羙° 于 2013-7-5 06:48 编辑
一双棕色长筒靴
荷叶/译
在百货商店,我的眼死死地盯着一双棕色长筒靴看。它们似乎在向我召唤。我努力提醒自己:我来这儿是为妈妈来挑一件特殊的生日礼物。我买不起任何别的东西。但这双近乎完美的靴子在摧毁着我的意志。
我是一位老师,在这样的经济状况下,我找不到一份暑期工作。几个月来,我那点可怜的积蓄已所剩无几。多亏了我慷慨的父母,我才能够付得起各种账单。现在银行里只剩几周的工资,妈妈的生日在即,我得向妈妈表示我对她帮助的感激之情。我已选好一款漂亮的黑毛衣,我知道妈妈会喜欢的,我正打算付钱离开。就在这时,这双棕色长筒靴进入了我眼帘。 万般无奈,我把这双靴子放了回去,付钱买了妈妈的礼物,转身离开。第二天下班后,我到朋友Terri家小坐。我刚要道别,Terri拦住了我。“我差点忘了,我这有一箱子旧东西要送人,看看有没有你感兴趣的东西。” 昨天的购物经历使我很不快,我没有心情去仔细翻看旧衣服。但最后我还是决定要看一看。在箱子最上面有一双崭新的红皮鞋,红皮鞋旁边有一双棕色长筒靴,和昨天我要买的那双一模一样。“这双鞋太小了,我一次也没穿过。”Terri说。我试了试,完全合适!
附:原文
I stared at a pair of brown boots at the department store. They seemed to be calling my name. I tried to remind myself that I was here to buy my mother a special birthday present. I couldn’t afford anything more. But these seemingly perfect brown shoes were breaking down my resolve. I’m a teacher, and in this economy, I hadn’t found a summer job. Over the past few months, my poor savings had dropped. It was only thanks to my generous parents that I could pay the bills. Now with a few weeks’ pay checks in the bank and my mum’s birthday coming up, I wanted to show my mum how much I appreciated her help. I’d found a beautiful black sweater that I knew mum would love and was ready to pay and leave. Then the brown boots caught my eye. Sadly, I returned the shoes to their place, paid for my mother’s present and left. The next day, I stopped by my friend Terri’s house after work. Just before I was about to say goodbye, Terri stopped me. “I’m almost forgot. I’ve got a box of old stuff I was going to give to others, but if there’s anything you’re interested in, you’re more than welcome to help yourself.”she said. Due to the bad shopping experience, I was in no good mood to look through old clothes. But I decided to have a look at last. There, on top of the pile, was a pair of brand new red leather shoes. Beside them was a pair of brown boots the same as the pair I had turned down. “They’re too small for me, and I’ve never worn them” Terri said. I tried them on. A perfect fit! |