硬幣的另外一面

I was doing a big clean-up in the early part of last year and my kids were helping. As he rummaged through boxes and bags, one of my sons came across a knotted handkerchief with an old dark brown coin nestled inside. ''Mum, can I have this? Can I play with this in my cash register?'' he asked. I took one look and was immediately transported to another time. ''You can play with all your coins, but not this one,'' I said slowly. ''This one's special. I will never again see the woman who gave this to me.'' I fingered the coin gently. ''This coin is worth much more than its monetary value.''

去年早些時(shí)候我進(jìn)行了一次打清理，我的孩子們一起幫忙。我的一個(gè)兒子翻箱倒柜，發(fā)現(xiàn)一條打結(jié)的手帕，里面有一枚發(fā)黑的硬幣。他問道：“媽媽，可以給我嗎?我想用它來(lái)玩收銀機(jī)。“我看了一眼，馬上想起了另一段時(shí)光。“你所有的硬幣都可以玩，但這枚不行”我緩緩地說(shuō)，“它很特殊。我再也不會(huì)碰見給我這枚硬幣的女人了”我撫摸著硬幣，說(shuō)： “這枚硬幣的價(jià)值遠(yuǎn)不止這點(diǎn)。”

My son looked at me strangely and I explained. In 1991, I had spent five months in a bleak African country, Niger, ravaged by sandstorms and blistering heat. There were many things I found difficult about this place – the climate and beggars were my biggest and most constant gripes. Street urchins would continually thrust their hands into your face, shouting ''Cadeau! Cadeau!'' [gift] in French, the former colonial tongue.

我兒子奇怪地看著我，于是我解釋給他聽。1991年我在尼日爾呆了五個(gè)月。那是個(gè)荒涼的非洲國(guó)家,沙暴遍地，酷熱難當(dāng)。我最恨最煩的兩件事就是天氣和乞丐。流浪兒們時(shí)不時(shí)地把手伸到你面前，用法語(yǔ)喊著：“禮物!禮物!”

After I'd finished my nursing stint there, a friend and I headed for neighbouring Burkina Faso to work in a health clinic.

護(hù)理工作結(jié)束之后，我和一位朋友去了鄰國(guó)布基納法索的一家健康中心工作。

''It's much greener in Burkina. Even the Coke tastes better,'' the locals assured us.

當(dāng)?shù)厝烁嬖V我：“布基納法索比這里干凈多了，就連可樂的味道都好得多。”

Arriving by taxi at our destination in Burkina, we began to unload. I had a large backpack and a smaller daypack. With my daypack wedged between my legs, I reached for my larger piece of luggage. Out of the darkness, a motorbike with two men approached slowly. Without warning, one of the men grabbed my daypack as the motorbike swept close by. Within seconds, the two were out of sight, swallowed up by the night.

乘出租到達(dá)目的地后，我們開始卸行李。我有兩個(gè)背包，一大一小。我把小包夾在雙腿中間，去拿大包。黑暗中，兩個(gè)男人騎著摩托車慢慢地靠近。當(dāng)摩托車駛過(guò)的時(shí)候，其中一個(gè)男人突然搶走了我的小包。很快，兩個(gè)人消失在夜色之中。

The bag had my passport, money, traveller's cheques, camera, an airline ticket and other paraphernalia precious to me. I was in deep trouble. And the nearest Australian consulate was in Ethiopia.

小包里有我的護(hù)照、錢、旅行支票、相機(jī)、機(jī)票和其它珍貴的私人物品。我的麻煩大了，最近的澳大利亞領(lǐng)事館在埃塞俄比亞!

In the weeks that followed, I zealously guarded the rest of my valuables and regarded all locals with suspicion. I endured interrogations by the authorities with thinly veiled frustration. All I wanted was to leave this hellhole.

接下來(lái)的幾個(gè)星期里，我警惕地保護(hù)著剩下的東西，懷疑每一個(gè)當(dāng)?shù)厝?，?duì)當(dāng)?shù)夭块T的盤問也很不合作。我想的就是離開這個(gè)鬼地方。

Then, walking through Burkina's streets one day, I was accosted by an old woman who thrust her hand in my face. ''Cadeau! Cadeau!'' she cried.

一天我走在布基納法索的街上，碰到了一個(gè)老女人。她把手伸到我的面前，叫道：“禮物!禮物!”

I'd had enough. I was sick and tired of the country: its poverty and corruption, its thieves, its inefficiency, the heat, the dust and its time-wasting officials. I told her firmly in French, ''I have no ‘cadeau'. I have no money. A thief stole all my money two weeks ago and now I can't get out of your country. I cannot give you anything.''

我受夠了!我再也不能忍受這個(gè)國(guó)家，她的貧窮和腐敗，她的小偷、無(wú)能、酷熱、沙塵和浪費(fèi)時(shí)間的官員。我直接用法語(yǔ)對(duì)它說(shuō)：“我沒有禮物，沒有錢。兩個(gè)星期前，一個(gè)賊偷光了我的錢，搞得我現(xiàn)在沒法離開你們的國(guó)家。我什么都給不了你。”

The beggar woman listened attentively and pondered my words. Then her face crumpled into a toothless grin as she reached into the folds of her dress.

那個(gè)女乞丐仔細(xì)聽著，琢磨著我的話。然后她咧嘴笑了，露出沒牙的嘴巴，把手伸進(jìn)了衣服的褶縫里。

''Then I will give you a cadeau,'' she announced. Kindly, she placed an old, dark brown coin in my palm. I looked at it in shock. It was a minuscule amount of money – but for this woman, the coin represented a meal. In that moment, I felt the shame of affluence and the humility of charity. She had given me a gift disproportionate to anything that I had ever donated. In the midst of her poverty, she was able to give me something priceless.

“那么，我給你一個(gè)禮物。”她輕輕地把一枚發(fā)黑的硬幣放在我手里。我吃驚地看著硬幣，它的面額很低——但對(duì)那個(gè)女人而言，這就是一頓飯!那一刻，我感到無(wú)地自容。她給我的遠(yuǎn)比我曾經(jīng)捐過(guò)的任何東西都值錢。盡管她很窮，她給我的東西無(wú)價(jià)!

I saw then the unexpected beauty of the people of Burkina Faso – and appreciated profoundly the quiet dignity of the poor. Humbled by the old woman's gift, I hope never to part with the coin she gave me. With one small token, she turned my perceptions upside down.

我看到了布基納法索人民令人始料未及的美麗，深深地感受到窮苦人民內(nèi)心的尊嚴(yán)。慚愧之余，我希望這枚硬幣永遠(yuǎn)伴隨著我。一枚小小的硬幣，讓我徹底改變了我的觀念。