What Goes Around, Comes Around好心有好报

He was driving home one evening， on a two-lane country road. Work in this small mid-western community， was almost as slow as his beat-up Pontiac. But he never quit looking. Ever since the factory closed， he’d been unemployed， and with winter raging on， the chill had finally hit home. It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it， unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfil.

一天傍晚，他沿着一条双车道的乡间小路开车回家。在这个中西部的小社区里，找工作的进度几乎和他那辆破旧的庞蒂亚克车一样慢。但他从未停止寻找。自从工厂关闭以来，他一直失业。随着冬天肆虐，寒意终于来袭。这是一条寂寞的路。没有太多人有理由在这条路上，除非他们要离开。他的大多数朋友已经离开了。他们有家庭要养活，有梦想要实现。

But he stayed on. After all， this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and he knew the country. He could go down this road blind， and tell you what was on either side， and with his headlights not working， which came in handy. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He’d better get a move on.

但他留了下来。毕竟，这是他埋葬父母的地方。他出生在此，他了解这处乡间。他可以闭着眼睛沿着这条路走下去，并且告诉你路的两边都有什么，由于他的前灯坏了，这个本事就派上用场了。天开始黑了下来，飘起了小雪。他得抓紧开了。

You know， he almost didn’t see the old lady， stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day， he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face， she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so.

要知道，他差点没看见那位困在路边的老太太。但即使天光昏暗，他也能看出她需要帮助。于是他把车停在她的奔驰车前，下了车。当他走近她时，他的庞蒂亚克车还在突突作响。尽管他脸上带着微笑，她还是很不安。过去一个多小时了，没有人停下帮忙。

Was he going to hurt her？ He didn’t look safe， he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened， standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said， “I’m here to help you ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm？ By the way， my name is Bryan”.

他会伤害她吗？他看起来让人没安全感，好像又穷又饿。他看得出，冒着严寒站在外面的她吓坏了。他知道她的感受。那是因恐惧而感到的寒冷。他说：“女士，我是来帮您的。您为什么不在暖和的车里等呢？对了，我叫布赖恩。”

Well， all she had was a flat tire， but for an old lady， that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack， skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts， she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

好吧，她只是车胎爆了，但对一个老太太来说，这就够糟糕了。布赖恩爬到车底下，想找个地方放千斤顶，有一两次把指关节磨破了皮。很快他就能换轮胎了。但他身上免不了弄脏了，双手也痛。在他拧紧螺母时，老太太摇下车窗，开始和他说话。她告诉他自己来自圣路易斯，只是路过这里。她对他的帮助感激不尽。布赖恩只是微笑着关上了她的后备箱。她问该给他多少钱，多少钱她都可以接受。她已经想象过如果他没停车帮忙，可能发生的所有可怕的事。

Bryan never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need， and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past... He had lived his whole life that way， and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back， the next time she saw someone who needed help， she could give that person the assistance that they needed， and Bryan added “... and think of me”. He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day， but he felt good as he headed for home， disappearing into the twilight.

布赖恩从来没有多想钱的事情。这对他而言不是一份工作，而是在帮助某个需要帮助的人，上帝知道从前有多少人向他伸出援手……他的一生都这样度过，从没想过要用别的方法行事。他告诉她，如果她真想报答，下次看到有人需要帮忙时，她能提供他们需要的帮助就好，布赖恩还加了句“……那时就想想我吧”。他一直等到她把汽车发动开走。这是寒冷而令人沮丧的一天，但是当他一路回家，隐没在暮色中时，他觉得心情很好。

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat， and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor—it didn’t ring much. Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile， one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant， but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude.

沿路行驶了几英里，这位女士看到一家小餐馆。她走进去想随便吃点东西，消除些寒意再踏上回家的最后一段路。那家餐馆看上去脏兮兮的。外面有两个旧加油泵。整个场景她都不熟悉。收银机就像一个失业演员的电话，不怎么会响。女服务员朝她走来，还拿了一条干净的毛巾帮她擦拭湿了的头发。服务员笑容甜美，即使站一整天也不会消散。女士注意到服务员怀孕快八个月了，但她从未因劳累和疼痛而改变态度。

The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan. After the lady finished her meal， and the waitress went to get change for her hundred-dollar bill， the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be， then she noticed something written on the napkin under which were 4 more $100 bills. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote. It said： “You don’t owe me anything， I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out， the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back， here is what you do： Do not let this chain of love end with you”.

老太太很奇怪，一个人如此贫穷，怎么会对一个陌生人这样慷慨。然后她想起了布赖恩。女士吃完饭，服务员去为她付的100美元找零，女士赶紧溜出门。服务员回来时她已经走了。服务员纳闷那位女士去哪儿了，这时她注意到餐巾纸上写着什么，下面还有4张100美元的钞票。读到女士写的内容时，她不禁热泪盈眶。餐巾纸上写道：“你并不欠我什么，我也曾遇到困难。有人曾帮助过我，就像我帮助你一样。如果你真的想要报答，就这么做：不要让这条爱之链在你这里终结。”

Well， there were tables to clear， sugar bowls to fill， and people to serve， but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed， she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it？ With the baby due next month， it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was， and as he lay sleeping next to her， she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low， “Everything’s gonna be all right; I love you， Bryan.”

唉，有桌子要清理，糖碗要填满，还有客人要招待，女服务员终于又熬过了一天。那天晚上，下班回到家，爬上床时，她还在想着那些钱和那位女士写的东西。这位女士怎么知道她和她丈夫是多么需要钱呢？下个月孩子就要出生了，日子会很不好过。她知道丈夫有多忧心，当他躺下睡在她身边时，她轻轻地吻了他一下，柔声低语：“一切都会好起来的；我爱你，布赖恩。”