9 A gift of love
9 爱的礼物
9 ài de lǐ wù
"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked.
“我可以看看我的宝宝吗？”初为人母的她开心地问道。
“wǒ kě yǐ kàn kàn wǒ de bǎo bǎo ma ？”chū wéi rén mǔ de tā kāi xīn dì wèn dào 。
When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
当裹着的婴儿放到她臂弯里，她掀开裹着婴儿的布，在看到他的小脸时，她不禁倒吸了一口气。医生快速地转过身，透过医院的高层窗户向外看去。婴儿生下来就没有耳朵。
dāng guǒ zhe de yīng ér fàng dào tā bì wān lǐ ，tā xiān kāi guǒ zhe yīng ér de bù ，zài kàn dào tā de xiǎo liǎn shí ，tā bú jìn dǎo xī le yī kǒu qì 。yī shēng kuài sù dì zhuǎn guò shēn ，tòu guò yī yuàn de gāo céng chuāng hù xiàng wài kàn qù 。yīng ér shēng xià lái jiù méi yǒu ěr duǒ 。
Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
时间证明婴儿的听力毫无问题，只是有损他的相貌。一天，当他匆匆从学校跑回家，扑向母亲的怀抱时，她叹了口气，意识到他的生活注定会受到一连串的打击。
shí jiān zhèng míng yīng ér de tīng lì háo wú wèn tí ，zhī shì yǒu sǔn tā de xiàng mào 。yī tiān ，dāng tā cōng cōng cóng xué xiào pǎo huí jiā ，pū xiàng mǔ qīn de huái bào shí ，tā tàn le kǒu qì ，yì shí dào tā de shēng huó zhù dìng huì shòu dào yī lián chuàn de dǎ jī 。
He blurted out the tragedy. "A boy, a big boy...called me a freak."
他脱口诉说遭到的不幸：“一个男孩，一个大个子男孩……他喊我怪胎。”
tā tuō kǒu sù shuō zāo dào de bú xìng ：“yī gè nán hái ，yī gè dà gè zǐ nán hái ……tā hǎn wǒ guài tāi 。”
He grew up, handsome except for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
他长大了，虽然不幸但还是长得挺帅。颇受同学的欢迎，要不是有缺陷，他很可能当了班长。他对文学和音乐很有天赋和潜质。
tā zhǎng dà le ，suī rán bú xìng dàn hái shì zhǎng dé tǐng shuài 。pō shòu tóng xué de huān yíng ，yào bú shì yǒu quē xiàn ，tā hěn kě néng dāng le bān zhǎng 。tā duì wén xué hé yīn lè hěn yǒu tiān fù hé qián zhì 。
"But you might mingle with other young people," his mother reproved him, but felt a kindness in her heart.
“但你可能会和其他年轻人一样。”母亲责备地说，但从心底里觉得很欣慰。
“dàn nǐ kě néng huì hé qí tā nián qīng rén yī yàng 。”mǔ qīn zé bèi dì shuō ，dàn cóng xīn dǐ lǐ jiào dé hěn xīn wèi 。
The boy's father had a session with the family physician... "Could nothing be done?"
男孩的父亲与家庭医生商量……“难道真无法补救吗？”
nán hái de fù qīn yǔ jiā tíng yī shēng shāng liàng ……“nán dào zhēn wú fǎ bǔ jiù ma ？”
"I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured," the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man.
“我认为可以移植一双外耳，如果能够找到的话。”医生做了决定，于是他们开始寻求一个愿意为这个年轻人做出牺牲的人。
“wǒ rèn wéi kě yǐ yí zhí yī shuāng wài ěr ，rú guǒ néng gòu zhǎo dào de huà 。”yī shēng zuò le jué dìng ，yú shì tā men kāi shǐ xún qiú yī gè yuàn yì wéi zhè gè nián qīng rén zuò chū xī shēng de rén 。
Two years went by.Then, "You're going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it's a secret." said the father.
两年过去了。对儿子说，“孩子，你要住院了。我和你妈找到愿意为你捐献耳朵的人了。但要求保密。”
liǎng nián guò qù le 。duì ér zǐ shuō ，“hái zǐ ，nǐ yào zhù yuàn le 。wǒ hé nǐ mā zhǎo dào yuàn yì wéi nǐ juān xiàn ěr duǒ de rén le 。dàn yào qiú bǎo mì 。”
The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.
手术获得了巨大成功，一个新人诞生了。他的潜力发展成一个天才，在中学和大学都取得了一连串的成功。
shǒu shù huò dé le jù dà chéng gōng ，yī gè xīn rén dàn shēng le 。tā de qián lì fā zhǎn chéng yī gè tiān cái ，zài zhōng xué hé dà xué dōu qǔ dé le yī lián chuàn de chéng gōng 。
Later he married and entered the diplomatic service. "but I must know," he asked his father, "Who gave me the ears? Who gave me so much? I could never do enough for him."
后来他结婚了，进入外交行业工作。一天，他问父亲：“是谁给我的耳朵？谁给了我那么多？我做多少都无法报答他/她。”
hòu lái tā jié hūn le ，jìn rù wài jiāo háng yè gōng zuò 。yī tiān ，tā wèn fù qīn ：“shì shuí gěi wǒ de ěr duǒ ？shuí gěi le wǒ nà me duō ？wǒ zuò duō shǎo dōu wú fǎ bào dá tā /tā 。”
"I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know...not yet."
“我也这样认为，”父亲说，“但是协议上说你不能知道……还不到时候。”
“wǒ yě zhè yàng rèn wéi ，”fù qīn shuō ，“dàn shì xié yì shàng shuō nǐ bú néng zhī dào ……hái bú dào shí hòu 。”
The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come. One of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother's casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish brown hair to reveal taht the mother had no outer ears.
他们的秘密遵守了很多年，但这天终于来了，这也是儿子度过的最黑暗的日子。他和父亲站在母亲的棺材前，慢慢地，轻柔地，父亲向前伸出一只手，掀开母亲浓密的、红褐色的头发：母亲竟然没有耳朵！
tā men de mì mì zūn shǒu le hěn duō nián ，dàn zhè tiān zhōng yú lái le ，zhè yě shì ér zǐ dù guò de zuì hēi àn de rì zǐ 。tā hé fù qīn zhàn zài mǔ qīn de guān cái qián ，màn màn dì ，qīng róu dì ，fù qīn xiàng qián shēn chū yī zhī shǒu ，xiān kāi mǔ qīn nóng mì de 、hóng hè sè de tóu fā ：mǔ qīn jìng rán méi yǒu ěr duǒ ！
"Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," his father whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?"
“你母亲说过她很高兴，她从不理发，”父亲轻柔地低声说，“但没人觉得母亲没以前美丽，是吧？”
“nǐ mǔ qīn shuō guò tā hěn gāo xìng ，tā cóng bú lǐ fā ，”fù qīn qīng róu dì dī shēng shuō ，“dàn méi rén jiào dé mǔ qīn méi yǐ qián měi lì ，shì ba ？”
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