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“Mrs. Martin is like a mother to me. I would never be that cruel. I may sound cruel because I’m doing my best to point something out to the two of you. I want to expand your point of view so you can see something most people never have the benefit of seeing because their vision is too narrow. Most people never see the trap they are in.”
“馬丁太太對我就像媽媽一樣，我決不會那么殘忍地看待她。我上面的話可能聽起來很無情，那是因為我在盡力向你們說明一些事情。我想拓寬你們的視野，讓你們看清一些東西。這些東西甚至連大多數成年人也從沒認清，因為他們眼界太狹窄了。大多數人從未認識到他們是在陷阱之中。”
Mike and I sat there, uncertain of his message. He sounded cruel, yet we could sense he was desperately wnat us to know something.
邁克和我還是不太明白他的意思。他的話聽起來很無情，然而我們能感到他確實是急于想讓我們明白。
With a smile, rich dad said, “Doesn’t that 25 cents an hour sound good? Doesn’t it make your heart beat a little faster?”
富爸爸又笑著說：“25美分每小時怎么樣？這樣是否讓你們心跳加速？”
I shook my head no, but it really did. Twenty-five cents an hour would be big bucks to me.
我搖搖頭說：“不會啊。”可事實上，25美分每小時對我而言可真是不小的數目啊！
“Okay, I’ll pay you a dollar an hour,” rich dad said, with a sly grin.
“那么，我每小時給你1美元。”富爸爸說，臉上露出狡黠的笑容。
Now my heart was beginning to race. My brain was screaming, “Take it. Take it.” I could not believe what I was hearing. Still, I said nothing.
我的心開始狂跳，腦袋里有個聲音在喊：“接受，快接受。”但我不相信我所聽到的，所以什么也沒說。
“Okay, two dollars an hour.”
“好吧，每小時2美元。”
My little nine-year-old brain and heart nearly exploded. After all, it was 1956 and being paid $2 an hour would have made me the richest kid in the world. I couldn’t imagine earning that kind of money. I wanted to say yes. But somehow my mouth stayed shut.Maybe my brain is overheated and blown to refuse, but deep down I wanted that 2 dollars an hour.
我這個9歲孩子的大腦和心臟幾乎要爆炸了。畢竟這是1956年，每小時2美元的薪水將使我成為世界上最有錢的孩子！我無法想象能掙到這么多錢。我想說“好的”，真想和他成交。但我還是莫名地緘口不言。也許我的腦袋已經熱昏了，但在內心深處，我非常想要那每小時的2美元。
The ice cream had melted and was running down my hand. Rich dad was looking at two boys staring back at him, eyes wide open and brains empty. He was testing us, and he knew there was a part of our emotions that wanted to take the deal.
冰激凌化了，順著我的手流了下來。地上留下一灘黏黏的香草和巧克力味的冰激凌，螞蟻正在享受它們。富爸爸看到兩個孩子盯著他，眼睛睜得大大的，腦子里卻空空如也。他是在考驗我們，而且他也知道我們很想接受這筆交易。
“Okay, five dollars an hour.”
“好，5美元每小時。”
Suddenly there was silent inside me. Something had changed. The offer was too big and got ridiculous. Not many grown-ups in 1956 made more than five dollars an hour, the temptation disappeared, and calm set in. Slowly, I turned to my left to look at Mike. He looked back at me. The part of my soul that was weak and needy was silenced. The part of me that had no price took over. There was a calm and a certainty that money had entered my brain and my soul. I knew Mike had gotten to that point also.
我的內心突然平靜了，想法發(fā)生了轉變。這個出價太高了，高得有些離譜。在1956年，就算成年人也沒有幾個能每小時掙5美元的。誘惑突然不見了，我恢復了平靜。我輕輕轉向左邊去看邁克，他也在看我。我靈魂中軟弱而貧乏的一面沉默了，無法用錢收買的一面占了上風。面對錢，我開始心安神定。我知道邁克也一樣。
