How much is a miracle?
一個奇跡多少錢？

Tess was a precocious eight-year-old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn't have the money for the doctor bills and their house.
苔絲是個早熟的八歲女孩。她聽到她的媽媽和爸爸在談?wù)撍牡艿馨驳卖敗Ｋ恢赖艿懿〉煤苤兀壹依锏腻X都用完了。他們家下個月要搬到一所公寓大樓，因為爸爸已經(jīng)沒錢支付醫(yī)藥費和房子的開支了。
Only a very costly surgery could save Andrew now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now."
現(xiàn)在，要救安德魯?shù)拿捅仨氝M行一次費用高昂的手術(shù)，但似乎沒人會借錢給他們家了。她聽到爸爸絕望地低聲對媽媽說：“現(xiàn)在只有奇跡可以就他的命。”
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all of the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rex all's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
苔絲走進自己的臥室，從衣柜里取出了藏在里面的一個玻璃果凍罐。她把全部零錢都倒在地板上，開始仔細地數(shù)著。她甚至反復(fù)數(shù)了三遍。總數(shù)必須完全精確，一分不差。她小心地將硬幣放回罐中并擰緊蓋子，然后從后門溜了出去，前往6個街區(qū)以外，門的上方掛著大大的紅色印第安酋長招牌的Rex all's藥店。
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally, she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
她耐心地等待藥劑師注意到她，但此時藥劑師太忙了。苔絲扭了扭腳，劃出一聲噪音。還是吸引到藥劑師的注意。她用最大的力氣清了清喉嚨。還是沒用。最后，她從罐子里取出了2角5分硬幣，并將硬幣重重地砸在玻璃柜臺上。終于有效了！

"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question. "Well, I want to talk to you about MY brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle."
“你想要什么？”藥劑師用惱怒的口氣問道。“我正在和我來自芝加哥相別好幾年的兄弟說話。”他第二句話跟得很快，完全沒有等待女孩回答他的問題。“好吧，我想和你談?wù)劇业男值埽碧z用同樣惱怒的口氣回答道。“他真的，真的病得很重......我想買一個奇跡。”
"I beg your pardon?" asked the pharmacist. "His name is Andrew, and he has something bad growing inside of his head, and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
“對不起，你再說一遍好嗎？”藥劑師問道。“他的名字叫安德魯，他的腦袋里長了一些不好的東西，我爸爸說現(xiàn)在只有奇跡可以救他。那，一個奇跡多少錢？”
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little. "Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
“我們不出售奇跡，小姑娘。我很抱歉，但我沒法幫到你，”藥劑師的語氣緩和了一些。“聽著，我有錢付款的。如果不夠，我也會以后補上。告訴我它多少錢。”
The pharmacist's brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?" "I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But, my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money." "How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago. "One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
藥劑師的兄弟是個穿著講究的男子。他彎下腰 問小女孩：“你的兄弟需要什么樣的奇跡？”“我不知道，”苔絲回答說，眼睛開始濕潤。“我只知道他真的生病了，媽媽說他需要進行手術(shù)。但是，我爸爸沒有錢付手術(shù)費了，所以我想用我的錢。”“你有多少錢？”來自芝加哥的男子問道。“1美元11美分，”苔絲用幾乎聽不清的聲音回答道。“我的全部錢都在這里，但如果需要的話，我還可以再弄來點兒。”
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a miracle for little brothers." He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."
“好吧，真巧，”男子笑了。“1美元11美分——小兄弟需要的奇跡正好是這個價格。”他一手接過錢，另一只手握住小女孩的連指手套，說：“帶我去你住的地方。我想看看你的兄弟，見見你的父母。我們看看我是否有你需要的那種奇跡。”
That well-dressed man was Doctor Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed without charge. And it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
那個衣著講究的男子是卡爾頓·阿姆斯特朗醫(yī)生，一名神經(jīng)外科專業(yè)醫(yī)生。這項手術(shù)是免費完成的。手術(shù)后不久，安德魯就回到家中，并且恢復(fù)得不錯。爸爸、媽媽開心地談?wù)撝@一連串的經(jīng)歷。
"That surgery," her Mom whispered, "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?" Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents... plus the faith of a little child.
“那項手術(shù)，”她媽媽低聲說，“真是一個奇跡。我想知道它應(yīng)該花費多少錢？”苔絲笑了，她知道一個奇跡的價錢——1美元11美分——再加上一個小孩的信仰。