The Doll and the White Rose
洋娃娃和白玫瑰
I was walking around in a mall, when I saw a cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn’t have been more than five or six years old. The cashier said, “I’m sorry, but you don’t have enough money to buy this doll.” Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him, “Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” The old lady replied, “You know that you don’t have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.” Then she asked him to stay there for just five minutes. She left quickly.
我在逛一个购物中心，忽然我看见收银员将一些钱递还给一个小男孩，这个男孩最多5、6岁。收银员说，“很抱歉，但是你的钱不够买这个洋娃娃。”小男孩转向他身旁的老妇人，“奶奶，你确定我的钱不够吗？”老妇人回答他说，“我亲爱的孩子，你知道你的钱不够买这个洋娃娃。”接着，她让小男孩在原地等她5分钟，她便很快地离开了。
The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and asked him who he wished to give this doll to.
小男孩仍然把娃娃拿在手里，我走向他，问他想要把娃娃送给谁。
“It’s the doll that my sister wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her,” he said. I said that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly, “No, Santa Claus can’t bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.” His eyes were so sad. “My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.”
“这个娃娃是我妹妹非常想要的圣诞节礼物。她坚信圣诞老人会把这个送给她，”他说。我说圣诞老人终究可能会把娃娃送给妹妹，所以不要担心。但是他难过地回答我说，“不会的，圣诞老人不会把娃娃送到她现在在的地方的。我得把娃娃拿给妈妈好让她去看妹妹的时候能把娃娃给妹妹。”他的眼睛里是那么悲伤，“妹妹和上帝在一起了。爸爸说妈妈很快就要和上帝见面，所以我想妈妈可以把娃娃带去给妹妹。”
My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and continued, “I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.” Then he showed me a nice photo of him laughing happily.
我的心脏几乎停止，小男孩抬头看着我继续说道，“我要爸爸告诉妈妈不要那么快走，我需要她等我从百货中心回来。”然后他给我看一张他笑得很开心的很好看的照片。
I quickly reached for my wallet and said, “Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?”
我很快地找到我的钱包，说道，“我们再确认一次吧，说不定你有足够的钱买这个娃娃？”
“OK, I hope I do have enough,” he said. I put some of my money with his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.
“好的，我希望我有足够的钱，”他说。我趁他不注意的时候把我的一些钱和他的放在一起，然后我们一起数钱，钱足够买娃娃了，甚至还有剩余。
Surprisingly, the little boy cried, “Thank you God for giving me enough money!” Then he looked at me and added, “I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me! I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose!”
小男孩惊讶得哭了，“谢谢上帝给了我足够的钱！”然后他看着我继续说道，“我昨晚睡觉前向上帝祈祷让我有足够的钱买这个娃娃，好让妈妈能把它带给妹妹。他听到了！我还希望有足够的钱买一朵白色的玫瑰送给妈妈，但是我不敢向上帝要求太多。但是他给了我足够的钱买娃娃和白玫瑰！”
A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I couldn’t get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?
几分钟后，老妇人回来了，我拿着篮子离开了。我心里一直惦记着小男孩，后来我想起来两天前报纸上报道说，有个醉汉开着卡车撞到一辆乘坐有一个妇女和一个小女孩的轿车。女孩当场死亡，母亲还在生死边缘。家人必须决定是否拔掉维持生命的机器的插头，因为这个母亲再也不能从昏迷中醒来。那是不是就是这个男孩的家人？
Two days after Iencountered the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the woman had passed away. I couldn’t stop myself from buying a bunch of white roses and going to the funeral. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever.
我遇到男孩两天后，从报纸上得知那位妇女过世了。我无法阻止自己买一束白玫瑰去参加葬礼。她就躺在那儿，躺在她的棺材里，手里握着一朵美丽的白玫瑰和小男孩的照片，她的胸前放着那个洋娃娃。我哭着离开了那里，感觉我的生命被彻底改变了。
>>Reading check
Pre-reading
1. If you see a child who doesn’t have enough money for what he/she wants, what would be your first reaction?
2. Do you believe that a little money can make a difference?
While-reading
1. Why did the boy want to buy the doll so much on that day?
2. What did the author do to help the boy?
3. The boy believed that God ________.
4. The author went to the funeral because _______________.
After-reading
The author felt that “my life had been changed forever” after the encounter with the boy. If you were the author, what changes do you think you might make in your life?
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