The Good Turn 好事

Manisha Deveshvar 张宁译

Every time Gina walked down the lane1 where she lived， some neighbour or the other would say that“the brat2”was off to some place.

每次吉娜沿着她住的小巷走的时候，都会有邻居说“这个顽劣的孩子”要去某个地方。

The six-year-old was the only child of her parents and they spoilt3 her totally. Even when she was a small child， her parents had never refused her anything. And she， in turn， always made sure that she got what she wanted.

这个六岁的孩子是她父母唯一的孩子，而他们把她宠坏了。即使在她很小的时候，她的父母也从未拒绝过她任何事情。反过来，她总是一定要得到她想要的。

One day， Ginas mother， Nitya Mehta， suddenly noticed that her daughter was not ready to share anything with her friends—be it a book， a toy or something toeat.

一天，吉娜的母親尼提亚·梅塔突然注意到，她的女儿并不准备与她的好朋友分享任何东西——无论是书、玩具或是吃的东西。

She discovered something else as well. Most children did not like to play withher daughter. They said she bossed4 them around and made them cry.

她还发现了另一件事。大多数孩子不喜欢和她的女儿一起玩。他们说她对他们指手画脚并且惹哭了他们。

Ginas mother realized that it was their fault5 that Gina was behaving likethis. For， hadnt they spoilt her by giving her anything and everything she askedfor？ Would Gina be able to make good friends and learn to share things withthem？ She would soon know， for Gina was now admitted6 to a class in a properschool.

吉娜的母亲意识到吉娜这样的表现是他们的错。因为，他们对她有求必应难道没有宠坏她吗？吉娜能交到好朋友并学会与他们分享吗？她很快就会知道，因为吉娜现在进了一个正规学校的班级。

Everyone in her class admitted that Gina was very intelligent. But she hadno friends until Rita joined her class. New to the city and too shy to make anyfriends， Rita did not mind being taken under Gina爷s wing7. Though knowingGina， it was more of bossing around. But at least she had someone to play with.

班上的每个人都承认吉娜很聪明。但在丽塔加入她的班级之前，她没有朋友。丽塔刚到这座城市，又羞于结交朋友，因此她不介意接受吉娜的照顾。虽然在认识吉娜后，更多的情况是指手画脚，但至少她有人陪她玩。

One day， the teacher scolded8  Rita for doing the math problems withoutthinking. The little girl cried because the whole class had laughed at her. For theteacher had patiently explained how to do the sums， but Rita was just not able tounderstand.

一天，老师责骂丽塔在做算术题时没有动脑子。这个小女孩哭了，而全班同学都嘲笑她。因为老师耐心地解释了如何做算术，但丽塔就是不明白。

Gina told her mother about Rita crying in class.“Why dont you try to explain to her simply？”asked her mother.“She likes you very much and if you teach her， she will understand.”

吉娜告诉了她母亲丽塔在课堂上哭的事。“你为什么不试着简单地给她解释一下？”她母亲问，“她非常喜欢你，如果你教她，她会弄懂的。”

“Mummy， I dont have time to waste. What can I do if she is dumb9？”saidGina.“But Rita is your friend and if you dont help her， who will？”scolded her mother. Then she decided to tell Gina the story of an ant and a dove10.gzslib202204041757

“妈妈，我没时间去浪费。如果她很蠢，我该怎么办？”吉娜说。“但是丽塔是你的朋友，如果你不帮助她，谁会帮她呢？”她母亲训斥道。然后她决定给吉娜讲一只蚂蚁和一只鸽子的故事。

“One day， an ant fell into a stream11 and was trying hard to save herself. A dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked12 a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to the ant. The ant climbed onto it and floated safely to the bank，” went the story.

“有一天，一只蚂蚁掉进小溪里，拼命想自救。一只鸽子停在悬在水面上的树上。它摘下一片叶子，让它落到小溪里靠近蚂蚁的地方。蚂蚁爬上叶子，安全地漂到岸边。”故事是这样讲的。

“A little later， a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree， preparing to throw a net over the unsuspecting13 dove. The ant knew what he was planning and stung14 him in the foot. The birdcatcher yelled15 out in pain and the noise made the dove fly away.”

“過了一会儿，一个捕鸟人走了过来，站在树下，准备向毫无戒心的鸽子撒一张网。蚂蚁知道他在计划什么，并在他的脚上刺了一下。观鸟人痛苦地大叫，叫声让鸽子飞走了。”

“Did you understand the story， Gina？”asked her mother.“It means that if you do a good turn， you will only get good in return.”Gina said， “What a silly story， mummy. It is for little children， and I have grown big.”

“你明白这个故事了吗，吉娜？”她母亲问道，“这意味着如果你做了好事，你只会得到善报。”吉娜说：“妈妈，这是一个多么愚蠢的故事啊。这是给小孩子听的，而我已经长大了。”

Then Ginas mother decided to act tough16.“If you do not help her out， I willnot let you watch cartoons for a week.”

然后吉娜的母亲决定表现得强硬一些。“如果你不帮她，我一周内都不会让你看卡通片。”

Very unhappy， Gina helped Rita. And wonder of wonders， Rita understood， forGina knew the trick of explaining simply. The teacher was happy that Rita hadfinally understood the sums and praised her in front of the class. Rita was excitedand told everyone what a good friend Gina was. But Gina preferred to forget it assomething unpleasant she had been forced17 to do.

吉娜非常不高兴地帮助了丽塔。奇迹中的奇迹，丽塔弄明白了，因为吉娜知道简单解释的诀窍。老师很高兴丽塔终于弄懂了算术，并在全班同学面前表扬了她。丽塔很激动，并告诉大家吉娜是个多么好的朋友。但吉娜宁愿忘记这件事，因为这是她被迫做的一件不愉快的事。

Meanwhile，  Rita  had  been  wondering  how  she  could  repay  her friend. The opportunity18 came sooner than she thought.

与此同时，丽塔一直在想如何报答她的朋友。机会来得比她想象的要快。

One day， in a fit of anger， Gina called one of the younger girls in the school a “stupid idiot”（these words were banned19 in the school）. She also pushed the girl. The girl fell and hurt her knee.

一天，吉娜一时气愤，称学校里一个小一点的女孩为“愚蠢的白痴”（这些词在学校里被禁止使用）。她还推了那个女孩。女孩摔倒了，还弄伤了膝盖。

The matter was reported to the headmaster. The headmaster scolded Gina in front of the entire school during the morning assembly20. Not only that， the headmaster told Gina to stay back for two hours after school and pick up the waste paper from each and every classroom during detention21.gzslib202204041757

这件事被人报告给了校长。校长在晨会上当着全校师生的面批评了吉娜。不仅如此，校长还让吉娜放学后留校两个小时，在课后留校期间捡每间教室的废纸。

Gina was heartbroken. She was a proud girl and could not bear the thoughtof being humiliated22. Right now all she wanted was for the ground to open upand swallow her so that she wouldnthave to show her face to anyone.

吉娜很伤心。她是一个骄傲的女孩，一想到会丢脸就受不了。现在她只想地上有条缝让她钻进去，这样她就不必在任何人面前露面了。

After school finished， Gina was left all alone. And then she did what she had been holding back the whole day—she sobbed23 and sobbed and sobbed.

放学后，吉娜一个人留了下来。然后她做了她忍了一整天的事情——她哭个不停。

That is when Rita found her best friend. She stayed back with Ginaand helped her clean the school. Gina remembered the story of the ant anddove.

麗塔就是在那个时候找到她最好的朋友的。她和吉娜一起留了下来，帮她打扫了学校。吉娜回想起了蚂蚁和鸽子的故事。

From that day， Gina and Rita became the best of friends.

从那天起，吉娜和丽塔成了最好的朋友。

（英语原文选自：pitara.com）

1. lane []  小路

2. brat []  乳臭未干的小孩;顽童

3. spoil []  溺爱

4. boss []  对……颐指气使

5. fault []  错误;责任

6. admit []  承认;接收（入学）

7. take under ones wing 庇护;特别关照某人

8. scold []  .责骂，训斥

9. dumb []  蠢的

10. dove []  .鸽子

11. stream []  小河，小溪

12. pluck []  摘，掐

13. unsuspecting []  不知情的

14. sting []  叮，刺，蜇

15. yell []  叫喊

16. tough []  强硬的，严厉的

17. force []  强迫

18. opportunity []  时机，机会

19. ban []  .禁止

20. assembly []  集会

21. detention []  （作为惩罚的）课后留校

22. humiliate []  .羞辱，使蒙羞