The Rich Man and the Poor Man

By M. Stanley Bubien

There once was a very rich man. He was so rich, he could have owned many cars, but instead he chose to drive a Ford. He was so rich, he could have owned many computers, but instead he chose an Apple Macintosh. He was so rich, he could have owned many homes—even some in Beverly Hills—but instead he chose to live in East LA.

[2] Because this man was rich, many people in his neighborhood knew him. And also because the man was rich, many people from outside of his neighborhood knew him too. Often, his doorbell would ring, and there on his threshold would stand someone who had come to ask for a donation.

Sometimes when the bell rang, it was a neighbor who had fallen into misfortune. The man would smile,embrace his neighbor, and place a generous sum into their hand.

Sometimes when the bell rang, it was a charity representing the starving children of Tijuana. The man would again smile, embrace the charity worker,and write a generous check.

從前，有一位大富翁。他非常有錢，買得起很多豪華轎車，可卻始終開一輛普通的福特汽車；買得起很多名牌電腦，可卻一直使用那臺(tái)老式蘋果機(jī)；買得起許多豪宅——甚至可以在貝佛利山買上幾幢別墅——可卻偏要住在東洛杉磯的平民區(qū)。

[2]因?yàn)樗挥校車S多人都認(rèn)識(shí)他；也正是因?yàn)樗挥校渌胤降脑S多人也都知道他。平時(shí)，只要門鈴一響，那準(zhǔn)是有人站在門外向他尋求施舍。

有時(shí)候，上門求助的是生活窘迫的鄰居，他會(huì)微微一笑，熱情地?fù)肀麄儯缓竽贸龊芏噱X，塞在他們手里。

有時(shí)候，上門求助的是慈善機(jī)構(gòu)（如幫助蒂華納的饑餓兒童）的工作人員，他也會(huì)微笑一下，熱情地?fù)肀麄儯缓箝_出一張大額支票。

Sometimes when the bell rang, it was a Jehovah’s Witness. Were he like many of us, the man’s first instinct would have been to promptly kick them in the butt and shove them back out onto the street.But instead, he once more smiled and embraced the Jehovah’s Witness as any other guest upon his threshold.

[3] One evening, when his doorbell was particularly quiet, this man decided to take a stroll. He headed off, idling along wherever the road wound; amongst the quaint homes of his neighborhood,past the threadbare trees lining the park,along walls painted with an array of colorful graffiti tags. Remember, this was East LA.

[4] Every once in a while, a car passed,thumping out the latest rage in rap hit,and he soon found himself whistling one of these catchy tunes to himself.

[5] Lost in the tune, he came suddenly upon a homeless bum lying in the midst of the sidewalk. The bum wore a tattered sweater and ripped pants. He had shoes,but they didn’t even match. And oh!The smell! I can’t even describe that to you here because it would ruin your Thanksgiving dinner.

[6] Well, this unfortunate soul lying on the street saw the man and knew him.Certainly, the bum said to himself. This is the rich man who lives on the lane.Surely he can help me, for he has money at his disposal. But instead of reaching out his hand, the bum was overcome by a sudden bout of shame and hid his face.

有時(shí)候，上門求助的是耶和華見證人。如果此時(shí)開門的是我們當(dāng)中的任何一位，恐怕我們的第一個(gè)念頭就是朝他們的屁股狠狠踹上一腳，然后把他們趕回大街上去。可是，他卻像對待其他客人一樣，照例微笑著擁抱他們。

[3]一天晚上，他的家門前竟然出奇安靜，他決定出去散散步。他漫無目的地穿行在大街小巷，周圍的房子稀奇古怪，經(jīng)過的圍墻滿是五顏六色的涂鴉，公園小道兩旁的樹木殘敗凋零。畢竟，這是東洛杉磯的平民區(qū)。

[4]就在這時(shí)，一輛汽車從他的身邊駛過，車中傳來一首流行的說唱曲調(diào)。不知不覺，他發(fā)現(xiàn)自己也和著那朗朗上口的節(jié)奏哼了起來。

[5]他完全沉浸在那首樂曲中。突然，他看見人行道中間躺著一個(gè)無家可歸的乞丐：一件破爛的針織套衫和一條褪了色的褲子緊緊裹在他的身上。還好，腳上還有鞋子，只是左右一樣一只。最糟糕的是他身上的那股氣味！哦，天哪！我簡直無法向你描述，否則你聽了肯定吃不下豐盛的感恩節(jié)晚餐。

[6]這下好啦，這個(gè)流落街頭的不幸之人看到了大富翁，而且知道他是誰。乞丐心想：他不正是住在這條街上的那位大富翁嗎，他那么有錢，又樂善好施，一定會(huì)幫助我的。然而，他沒有向大富翁伸手乞求施舍，此時(shí)他的內(nèi)心突然涌起一種難以抵抗的羞恥感，他趕緊藏起了自己的臉。

[7] The man stood over this tattered figure. He reached down and touched the bum’s cheek, but the bum shrank away from him even further. The man’s eyes clouded slightly and he cracked a weak smile. Forgetting the tune he once whistled, the man slowly turned and walked back to his home.

[8] Upon hearing the man retreat beyond the corner, the bum opened his eyes and sat up. There at his feet lay a crisp $100.00 dollar bill.

The bum grabbed the money and made a beeline for the nearest 7/11. Like all bums, this one’s first thought was to go blow the money on vodka. What a bum!

[9] But, before he entered the store,he remembered the compassion of the man’s touch. This inspired him, and the bum decided then and there to turn his life around. The bum promptly bummed two dimes off an old lady (pay phones don’t take hundreds). “Well.” the lady replied. “You ain’t gonna spend this on alcohol?” The bum shook his head and stuck the money into the slot of the nearest telephone.

[7]大富翁在這個(gè)衣衫襤褸的乞丐面前停了下來。他俯下身子，輕輕摸了下乞丐的臉，可那乞丐仿佛觸電般向后縮，躲得更遠(yuǎn)了。一絲黯然的神色從富翁眼中掠過，他淡淡一笑。他已經(jīng)忘了剛才吹起的曲調(diào)，緩緩轉(zhuǎn)過身，向自家走去。

[8]聽著那漸漸遠(yuǎn)去的腳步聲，乞丐睜開雙眼，坐直身子。一張嶄新的百元大鈔靜靜躺在他的腳邊。

他一把抓起鈔票，站起身徑直朝最近的那家7-11便利店奔去。與所有乞丐一樣，此時(shí)他的第一個(gè)念頭就是要好好享受一番，把這100美元全都揮霍在伏特加酒上。畢竟，他是個(gè)乞丐！

[9]然而，就在邁進(jìn)便利店的前一刻，他想起了富翁撫摸他臉頰時(shí)那充滿憐憫的目光。這使他的心靈受到了強(qiáng)烈的震撼，他當(dāng)即決定要改變自己的人生。隨后，他向一位老婦人討要兩枚10美分硬幣（投幣電話不接受百元大鈔）。“你不會(huì)是要用這錢買酒喝吧？”老婦人問道。乞丐搖了搖頭，將硬幣投進(jìn)了最近的那部電話機(jī)中。

[10] His broker answered and the bum said finally, “Hundred dollars. Invest it all in that company with the nerdy looking CEO. Microsoft!”

[11] Since this was, as it turns out, the late-1980s, it took only a short while before the stock skyrocketed. Yes, good can come of evil after all—especially when you’re working the stock market—and soon the bum found himself very well off indeed.

[12] Back in East LA the years passed slowly. The generous man kept to life much as usual—taking evening strolls,whistling rap tunes, answering his door.

[13] One day in particular, his doorbell rang, and there stood a finely dressed gentleman in a three piece suit. Uh oh,the man thought. Jehovah’s Witness. But before he could do anything, his guest spoke.

“You’re the rich man, aren’t you?” his guest asked.

“What can I do for you?” the man responded automatically, so accustomed to being asked for things.

[14] “It is not what you can do for me,” answered his guest. “But what you have already done.”

[10]經(jīng)紀(jì)人接了電話。他最后說：“我只有100美元，把它全部投到那個(gè)總裁看上去像個(gè)書呆子的公司吧，就是那個(gè)微軟公司。”

[11]那時(shí)正值20世紀(jì)80年代末，股票瞬間飛漲。真可謂否極泰來——尤其是在股票市場——很快，這個(gè)乞丐也成了富人。

[12]光陰荏苒，在東洛杉磯的平民區(qū)里，那位慷慨的富翁一如既往地生活著——晚上出門散散步，哼哼說唱小曲，在家恭候來訪的客人。

[13]有那么一天，他的門鈴響了起來。他打開門，只見門外站著一位身著考究的三件套西服的紳士。哦，一定又是個(gè)耶和華見證人，他心想。不過不等他做什么，來客先開口了。

“您就是那位有錢人吧？”來客問道。

“我能為您做些什么嗎？”他不假思索地問。對于別人的求助，他已經(jīng)完全習(xí)以為常了。

“What have I done for you?” the man asked in surprise.

“You’ve given me a second chance at life. Why, with your generous gift, I was able to invest the money and pull myself out of my poverty. I no longer wallow in the grime and gutters, but I walk along crowded sidewalks with my head held high. I have you to thank for that.”

[15] Suddenly, the man recognized his guest. It was the old bum who’d been lying in the street. The man replied,“What I gave you, you did not ask for. I gave it simply because I saw you there and loved you. I would have given it to anyone in your position.”

“All the more reason to come and thank you,” his guest said.

“But I am rich,” replied the man. “I have many gifts to give. I don’t expect anything in return.”

“Good,” his guest said with a nod.“Because I don’t have anything to offer in return—whatever I have, you gave to me. All I wanted to do was come and thank you.”

[14]“噢，不。我來這里不是要您幫助我，”客人連忙答道，“而是因?yàn)槟?jīng)幫過我。”

“哦？我?guī)瓦^您什么呢？”他驚訝地問道。

“是您給了我人生中第二次機(jī)會(huì)。呃，是您慷慨的幫助，我才有錢投資，并擺脫了貧困。我不再是生活在社會(huì)最底層的乞丐了，也可以昂首挺胸地走在擁擠的人行道中。因此，我特意來感謝您。”

[15]富翁突然認(rèn)出了眼前的這位客人，原來他就是幾年前蜷縮在人行道上的那個(gè)乞丐。富翁說：“那100美元是我給您的，并不是您向我要的。我之所以給您那100美元，完全是因?yàn)榭匆娔稍谀抢铮浅？蓱z。無論是誰處在您當(dāng)時(shí)的境況，我都會(huì)給予幫助。”

“這么說，我更得感謝您。”來客堅(jiān)持道。

“可是我有錢，”富翁答道，“我可以幫助別人。我并不指望任何回報(bào)。”

“是的，先生。”客人點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭說，“我也沒有什么可以回報(bào)給您——我擁有的一切都是您給予我的。今天來這里，就是想真誠地感謝您！”

[16] The man stared as his guest reached out and took him into an embrace. It was the same gesture the man had so often offered to those at his door, yet this was the first time someone had offered it back.

Tears filled the man’s eyes as his guest, a lowly bum off the street, held him in the most satisfying embrace he had ever received.

[16]富翁注視著來客，后者伸出雙臂緊緊地?fù)肀Я怂Ｒ恢币詠恚际怯眠@種友好的方式歡迎那些前來尋求幫助的人；今天，第一次有人以同樣的方式來回報(bào)他。

當(dāng)他的客人——一個(gè)曾經(jīng)流落街頭的卑微的乞丐——緊緊擁抱他時(shí)，他的眼眶噙滿了激動(dòng)的淚水，這是他有生以來得到的最滿意的一次擁抱。