30 I Will Always Forgive You
我会永远原谅你
How many times must I forgive my brother? the disciple Peter had asked Jesus. "Seven times?" Lisa's Sunday school teacher had read Jesus' surprising answer to the class, "Seventy times seven."
“我到底要原谅我弟弟多少次？”门徒彼得曾求教于耶稣。“是7次吗？”莉萨在主日学校的老师向全班朗读了耶稣令人吃惊的回答：“是70乘以7次。”
Lisa had leaned over to her brother Brent as the teacher continued reading. "How many times is that?" she whispered. Brent, though two years younger, was smarter than she was.
老师继续朗读，莉萨倾身靠近弟弟布伦特。“那是多少次啊？”她低声问道。布伦特虽然比她小两岁，却比她聪明。
Four hundred and ninety, Brent wrote on the corner of his Sunday school paper. Lisa saw the message, nodded, and sat back in her chair. Brent was small for his age, with narrow shoulders and short arms. His glasses were too large for his face, and his hair always matted in swirls .He bordered on being a nerd , but his incredible skills at everything, especially music, made him popular with his classmates.
“490次。”布伦特在主日学校的稿纸一角上写道。莉萨看见了这个答案，点点头，坐回到自己的椅子里。布伦特肩膀窄窄的，胳膊短短的，看上去比他的实际年龄要小。他的眼镜相对于他的脸庞来说太大，他的头发总是结缠成绺。他几乎就是一个乏味的人，但让人难以置信的是他对任何事都特别精通，尤其在音乐方面，这使得他很受同学们的欢迎。
Brent had learned to play the piano at age four, the clarinet at age seven, and had just begun to play the oboe . His music teachers said he'd be a famous musician someday. There was only one thing at which Lisa was better than Brent—basketball. They played it almost every afternoon after school. Brent could have refused to play, but he knew that it was Lisa's only joy in the midst of her struggles to get C's and D's at school.
布伦特四岁学弹钢琴，七岁吹单簧管，最近又开始学吹双簧管。他的音乐老师说他以后会成为一名著名的音乐家。只有一件事莉萨比布伦特做得好——打篮球。他们几乎每天下午放学后都打篮球。布伦特本可以拒绝打篮球，但他知道这是莉萨在学校尽力得到C和D的过程中唯一的乐趣。
That same Sunday afternoon the brother and sister played basketball in the driveway. It was then that the counting had begun. Brent was guarding Lisa as she dribbled toward the basket. He had tried to bat the ball away, got his face near her elbow, and took a shot on the chin. "Ow!" he cried out and turned away.
还是那个星期天的下午，姐弟俩在车道上打篮球。也就是从那时起“计数”开始了。莉萨朝篮筐运球时，布伦特在防守。他试图把球拍走，脸靠近了莉萨的胳膊肘，下巴一下子磕在上面。“啊唷！”他大喊一声，转过身去。
Lisa saw her opening and drove to the basket, making an easy layup .She gloated over her success but stopped when she saw Brent. "You okay?" she asked. Brent shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry," Lisa said. "Really. It was a cheap shot."
莉萨看到她的空档来了，跑到篮下，轻松完成了一个上篮。她对于自己的胜利感到心花怒放，但看到布伦特时却停了下来。“你没事吧？”她问道。布伦特耸耸肩。“对不起，”莉萨说，“真的。刚才投的篮不够公平。”
It's all right. I forgive you, he said. A thin smile then formed on his face, "Just 489 more times though."
“不碍事。我原谅你，”他说。他的脸上出现一抹淡淡的笑容，“可是只剩下489次了。”
What do you mean? Lisa asked.
“你说什么？”莉萨问道。
You know ... what we learned in Sunday school today. You're supposed to forgive someone 490 times. I just forgave you, so now you have 489 left, he kidded.
“你知道……我们今天在主日学校学的。你应该原谅别人490次。我刚刚原谅了你，所以现在你还剩489次。”他开玩笑说。
Brent's forgiving spirit strongly held the interest of Lisa, and she wanted him to know how sorry she was. It was that evening that she had made the chart with the 490 boxes. She showed it to him before he went to bed.
布伦特原谅的精神激起了莉萨的强烈兴趣，她想让弟弟知道她有多么抱歉。就在那天晚上，她做了一张有490个格子的表格。她在布伦特上床睡觉之前拿给他看了。
We can keep track of every time I mess up and you forgive me, she said.
“每当我把事情搞砸而你又原谅我时，我们就把它记下来。”她说。
Brent raised his hands to protest. "You don't need to keep ..."
布伦特举手抗议，“你不需要记……”
Yes I do! Lisa interrupted. "You're always forgiving me, and I want to keep track. Just let me do this!" She went back to her room and tacked the chart to her bulletin board.
“我就要记！”莉萨打断他，“你总是原谅我，所以我想记下来。就让我这么做吧！”她回到自己的卧室，把表格钉在她的记事板上。
There were many opportunities to fill in the chart in the years that followed. She once told the kids at school that Brent talked in his sleep and called out Rhonda Hill's name, even though it wasn't true. The teasing caused Brent days and days of misery. When she realized how cruel she had been, Lisa apologized sincerely. That night she marked box number 96. Forgiveness number 211 came in the tenth grade when Lisa failed to bring home his English book. Brent had stayed home sick that day and had asked her to bring it so he could study for a quiz. She forgot and he got a C. Number 393 was for lost keys.... 418 for the extra bleach she put in the washer, which ruined his favorite Polo shirt.
在随后的几年里，莉萨有很多次机会来填这个表格。她有一次曾告诉学校的孩子们，布伦特说梦话，并且大喊朗达·希尔的名字，尽管那不是真的。众人的取笑使布伦特好些天痛苦不堪。当莉萨意识到自己有多么残忍时，就真挚地向他道了歉。那天晚上，她在第96个格子里做了标记。莉萨上十年级时把原谅的次数填到211次，那次是因为她没把弟弟的w88中文书带回家。布伦特那天生病在家，便让莉萨把w88中文书带回家，这样他可以为小测验做准备。莉萨却忘了这件事，结果布伦特测验得了个C。第393次是原谅她弄丢了钥匙……第418次是因为她往洗衣机里多放了漂白剂，把布伦特最喜欢的球衣给毁了。
There was a small ceremony when Lisa checked number 490. She used a gold pen for the check mark, had Brent sign the chart, and then placed it in her memory box. "I guess that's the end," Lisa said, "No more screw-ups from me anymore!" Brent just laughed. "Yeah, right."
当莉萨在第490个格里画钩时，她举行了一个小小的仪式。她用一支金色的笔画钩，让布伦特在图表上签字，而后把图表放进她的记忆盒里。“我想就到此为止了，”莉萨说，“我再不会把事情搞得乱七八糟了。”布伦特只是笑笑：“是啊，没错。”
Number 491 was just another one of Lisa's careless mistakes, but its hurt lasted a lifetime. Brent had become all that his music teachers said he would. Few could play the oboe better than he. In his fourth year at the best music school in the United States, he received the opportunity of a life time—a chance to try out for New York City's great orchestra.
第491次仅仅是莉萨又一次粗心犯的错误，但这次错误所带来的伤害却陪伴了她一生。布伦特如他的音乐老师所说，成为一名音乐尖子。几乎没有人吹双簧管能比他吹得还好。在他就读美国一流的音乐学院第四年时，他获得了一个一生难得的机会——去参加纽约市最大的管弦乐队的选拔表演。
The tryout would be held sometime during the following two weeks. Brent had been out when the call about the tryout came to the house. Lisa was the only one home and on her way out the door, eager to get to work on time.
选拔表演将在接下来两周内的某个时间进行。通知预赛的电话打到家里时，布伦特还在外面。当时只有莉萨一个人在家，她正准备出门，一心想着按时上班。
Two-thirty on the tenth, the secretary said on the phone. Lisa did not have a pen, but she told herself that she could remember it.
“10号2点30分，”秘书在电话里说。莉萨没带笔，但她告诉自己能记住这个时间。
Got it. Thanks. "I can remember that, she thought. But she did not. It was a week later around the dinner table that Lisa realized her mistake.
“知道了，谢谢！”“我能记住的。”她想。但她还是忘了。大约一周以后，莉萨在饭桌上用餐时才意识到她的错误。
So, Brent, his mom asked him, "When do you try out?"
“那么，布伦特，”他的妈妈问他，“你什么时候参加试演？”
Don't know yet. They're supposed to call. Lisa froze in her seat.
“还不知道。他们应该会打电话的。”莉萨坐在椅子上愣住了。
Oh, no! she blurted out loud. "What's today's date? Quick!"
“哦，不！”她大声地叫了出来，“今天是几号？快告诉我啊！”
It's the twelfth, her dad answered. "Why?"
“12号啊，”她爸爸答道，“怎么了？”
A terrible pain ripped through Lisa's heart. She buried her face in her hands, crying. "Lisa, what's the matter?" her mother asked.
一阵剧烈的疼痛撕扯着莉萨的心。她双手掩面哭了起来。“莉萨，出什么事了？”她妈妈问道。
Through sobs Lisa explained what had happened. "It was two days ago... the tryout ... two-thirty ... the call came ... last week." Brent sat back in his chair, not believing Lisa.
莉萨抽泣着说出了事情的原委。“那是在两天以前……预赛……2 点30分……打电话来了……是在上周。”布伦特靠在椅背上，不相信莉萨的话。
Is this one of your jokes, sis ? he asked, though he could tell her misery was real. She shook her head, still unable to look at him.
“你在和我开玩笑吧，姐？”他问道，尽管他能断定她确实很痛苦。她摇摇头，仍然不敢直视布伦特。
Then I really missed it? She nodded.
“那么我真的错过试演了？”莉萨点点头。
Brent ran out of the kitchen without a word. He did not come out of his room the rest of the evening.
布伦特一句话也没说便冲出了厨房。在那天晚上接下来的时间里，他没有走出过自己的房间。
Lisa knew that she had ruined Brent's life. He could never forgive her for that. She had failed her family, and there was nothing to do but to leave home. Lisa packed her pickup truck in the middle of the night.
莉萨知道她毁掉了布伦特的一生。因为这件事，他永远也不会原谅她了。她辜负了她的家人，如今除了离开家之外别无选择。莉萨在午夜时分把行李装上了她的小卡车。
Two days later she got a job as a waitress in Boston.
两天后，她在波士顿找到了一个做服务生的工作。
It's too late, she wrote them once. "I've ruined Brent's life, and I'm not coming back."
她给他们写过一次信，信中写道：“太晚了，我已经毁掉了布伦特的一生，我不会回家。”
Lisa did not think she would ever see home again. But one day in the restaurant where she worked she saw a face she knew. "Lisa!" said Mrs. Nelson, looking up from her plate, "What a surprise."
莉萨以为她再也不会回家了。但是有一天，她在饭馆上班时看到了一张熟悉的面孔。“莉萨！”纳尔逊夫人从她的餐盘上方抬起头来说，“多么出乎意料啊！”
The woman was a friend of Lisa's family from back home. "I was so sorry to hear about your brother," Mrs. Nelson said softly, "Such a terrible accident. But we can be thankful that he died quickly. He didn't suffer." Lisa stared at the woman in shock.
这位夫人是莉萨家的一位朋友。“我很抱歉听到你弟弟的遭遇，”纳尔逊夫人轻声说，“真是一个可怕的意外。但欣慰的是他很快就去了，并没有遭受痛苦。”莉萨目瞪口呆地盯着那位夫人。
Wh-hat? she finally stammered.
“什……什么？”她终于结结巴巴地说。
It couldn't be! Her brother? Dead? The woman quickly saw that Lisa did not know about the accident. She told the girl the sad story of the speeding car, the rush to the hospital, the doctors working over Brent. But all they could do was not enough to save him.
这不可能！她的弟弟？死了？这位夫人很快看出了莉萨并不知道这场意外。她给这个女孩讲述了悲惨的经过，先是汽车超速，而后是紧急送医，然后是医生们抢救布伦特。但是尽管他们用尽了一切办 法，还是没能保住他的性命。
Lisa returned home that afternoon. Now she found herself in her room thinking about her brother as she held the small box that held some of her memories of him. Sadly, she opened the box and peered inside. It was as she remembered, except for one item—Brent's chart. It was not there. In its place, at the bottom of the box, was an envelope. Her hands shook as she tore it open and removed a letter. The first page read:
莉萨那天下午回到家，然后她发觉自己在房间里想着她的弟弟，手里拿着存有一些关于他的回忆的小盒子。她悲伤地打开盒子，看了看里面。一切如初，都和她记忆中的一样，除了一样东西——布伦特原谅她的表格。那张表格不在盒子里。在它原来的地方——盒子的最下面，躺着一个信封。她双手颤抖着打开了信封，从里面拿出一封 信。信的第一页写着：
Dear Lisa,
亲爱的莉萨：
It was you who kept count, not me. But if you're stubborn enough to keep count, use the new chart I've made for you.
是你在坚持计算原谅的次数，而不是我。但是如果你这么固执，还要坚持计算的话，就用我为你做的这张新表格吧。
Love, Brent
爱你的布伦特
Lisa turned to the second page where she found a chart just like the one she had made as a child, but on this one the lines were drawn in perfect precision. And unlike the chart she had kept, there was but one check mark in the upper left-hand corner. Written in red felt-tip pen over the entire page were the words: "Number 491. Forgiven, forever."
莉萨翻到第二页，发现一张和她小时候做的一样的表格，但是这张表格上的线条画得非常精致。与她保存的那张表格不同之处在于，这张表格只在左上角画了一个勾。在整页纸上用红色标签笔写着：“第491次。永远原谅你。”
(By Joni Eareckson Tada)