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Love in a Paper Bag 纸袋里的爱情 It was Molly's job to hand her father his brown paper lunch bag each morning before he headed off to work. One morning, in addition to his usual lunch bag, Molly handed him a second paper bag. This one was worn and held together with staples, and paper clips. 每天早上莫莉都负责在爸爸匆匆上班之前把装午餐的牛皮纸袋递给他。这天早上，莫莉除了递给爸爸装午餐的袋子外，还递给了他另外一个袋子。这只袋子有点儿破，上面有很多钉书针和回形针。 “Why two bags?” her father asked. “为什么是两只袋子?”爸爸问。 “The other is something else,” Molly answered. “另外一只里面装着其他的东西。”莫莉回答道。 “What's in it?” “里面是什么?” “Just some stuff. Take it with you.” “就是一些小玩意儿，带着它吧。” Not wanting to discuss the matter, he stuffed both sacks into his briefcase, kissed Molly and rushed off. At midday he opened Molly's bag and took out the contents: two hair ribbons, three small stones, a plastic dinosaur, a tiny sea shell, a small doll, and 13 pennies... 爸爸不想在这个问题上继续讨论下去，就把这两个袋子都塞进了公文包，亲吻了莫莉，匆匆出门了。中午的时候，他打开莫莉的袋子，拿出里面的东西：两条发带、三块小石子、一个塑料恐龙、一只很小的贝壳儿、一只小娃娃，还有13枚硬币…… The busy father smiled, finished eating, and swept the desk clean into the wastebasket, Molly's stuff included. 忙碌的爸爸笑了，吃完午饭清理桌子时，把莫莉的东西一起扔进了垃圾桶。 That evening, Molly ran up behind him as he read the paper. 晚上，莫莉在他看报纸的时候跑到了他的身后。 “Where's my bag?” “我的袋子呢?” “What bag?” “什么袋子?” “The one I gave you this morning.” “我今天早上给你的那个。” “I left it at the office. Why?” “忘在办公室了，怎么啦?” “I forgot to put this note in it,” she said. “And, besides, Daddy, the things in the sack are the things I really like—I thought you might like to play with them. You didn't lose the bag, did you, Daddy?” “我忘了把这张字条也放在里面了，”莫莉说，“而且，袋子里面的东西都是我非常喜欢的。我想也许你会喜欢玩那些东西。你没把那个袋子弄丢吧，爸爸?” “Oh, no,” he said, lying. “I just forgot to bring it home. I'll bring it tomorrow.” “哦，没有，”爸爸在撒谎，“我只是忘记把它拿回家了。我明天把它拿回来。” While Molly hugged her father's neck, he unfolded the note that read: “I love you, Daddy.” 就在莫莉搂着爸爸脖子的时候，他打开了那张纸条，上面写着：“我爱你，爸爸。” Molly had given him her treasures—all that a 7yearold held dear. Love in a paper bag, and he missed it—not only missed it, but had thrown it in the wastebasket. So back he went to the office, just ahead of the night janitor to pick up the wastebasket. 莫莉把一个七岁女孩珍爱的东西送给了爸爸。他错过了装在纸袋中的爱，不仅错过了，还把它扔进了垃圾桶。他在门卫关门之前急忙回到了办公室，拣起了扔在垃圾桶里的东西。 He put the treasures inside and carried it home gingerly. The bag didn't look so good, but the stuff was all there and that's what counted. After dinner, he asked Molly to tell him about the stuff in the sack. It took a long time to tell. Everything had a story or a memory. “Sometimes I think of all the marvelous times in this sweet life,” he mused. 他把这些宝贝放在袋子里面，小心翼翼地把它拿回家。袋子看起来并不是很好，但是里面的东西全都在，而这才是最重要的。晚饭过后，他让莫莉讲讲关于那些东西的故事。莫莉讲了很久，每一件物品都有一个故事、一段回忆。“我有时会想起甜蜜生活中这些美妙的时刻。”他沉思着说。 We should all remember that it's not the destination that counts in life, but the JOURNEY. That journey with the people we love is all that really matters. It is such a simple truth but it is so easily forgotten. 我们都应该铭记：生活中最重要的不是我们所要达到的目标，而是生活的过程。和深爱的人一起度过人生才是最关键的。这个道理很简单，却又容易被人们遗忘。 |
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