I was six years old, and my sister, Sally Kay, was a submissive three-year-old girl. For some reasons, I thought we needed to earn some money. I decided we should "hire out" as maids. We visited the neighbors, offering to clean houses for them for a quarter cents. Reasonable as our offer was, there were no takers. But one neighbor telephoned my mother to let her know what Mary Alice and Sally Kay were doing.
我六岁的时候,妹妹，Sally Kay，是听话的三岁小女孩。因为某些原因，我认为我们需要赚一些钱。我决定我们应该作为“雇用”女佣外出赚钱。于是，我们拜访邻居，提出为他们清洁房子而收取四美分的报酬。我们的报价是合理的，但没有人愿意雇佣我们。一个邻居打电话给母亲，让她知道了爱丽丝玛丽和萨凯正在做的事情。
Mother had just hung up the phone when we came first into the back door into the kitchen of our apartment. "Girls," mother asked, "why were you two going around the neighborhood telling people you would clean their houses?" Mother wasn't angry with us. In fact, we learned afterwards she was amused that we had come up with such an idea.
母亲刚挂上电话，我们就从后门进了厨房。“女孩们，”母亲问，“为什么要告诉邻居们你们会打扫房子?”妈妈没有生我们的气。事实上，我们后来才知道，她觉得我们的想法是有趣的。
But, for some reason, we both denied having done any such thing. Shocked and terribly hurt that her dear little girls could be such "boldfaced liars". Mother then told us that Mrs. Jones had just called and told her we had been to her house and said we would clean it for a quarter cents.
但是，不知出于什么原因，我们当时都否认做过这样的事情。母亲震惊和伤心自己亲爱的女儿竟然撒谎。她告我们说琼斯夫人刚刚打电话说我们曾经到过她家。
Faced with the truth, we admitted what we had done. Mother said we have fibbed, we have not told the truth. She was sure that we knew better. She tried to explain why a fib hurt, but she didn't feel that we really understood.
面对事实，我们承认了自己所做的事情。她试图给我们解释小小的撒谎会带来伤害，但她不觉得我们当时真的理解了。
Years later, she told us that the lesson she came up with for trying to teach us to be truthful would probably have been found upon by child psychologists. The idea came to her in a flash, and a tender-hearted mother told us it was the most difficult lesson she ever taught us. It was a lesson we never forgot. After admonishing us, mother cheerfully began preparing for lunch. As we munching on sandwiches, she asked:" Would you two like to go to see the movies this afternoon?"
多年后，她说起当时她脑海中突然闪现的如何教我们诚实的做法可以在儿童心理学中找到依据。她告诉我们那是一个温柔的母亲所教过的最困难的一课，但那是一个我们从来没有忘记的教训。当时，妈妈高兴地给我们准备午餐。就在我们吃着三明治时，她问：“你们下午想去看电影吗?”
"Wow, would we ever?" We wondered what movie would be playing. Mother said:"The Matinee".
“哇，好!”我们想知道什么电影。妈妈说：“日场”。
"Oh, fantastic! We would be going to see The Matinee, would we be so lucky?" We got bathed and all dressed up. It was like getting ready for a birthday party. We hurried outside the apartment, not wanting to miss the bus that would take us downtown. On the landing, Mom stunned us by saying, "Girls, we are not going to the movies today." We didn't hear her right.
“哇!我们要去看日场，我们会有那么幸运吗?”我们洗澡换衣，就像去赴一个生日聚会似的。我们匆忙赶到公寓外，不想错过那将带我们去市中心的公共汽车。在车站等车时，妈妈的话令我们大跌眼镜，“姑娘们，我们今天不去看电影了。”我真希望自己听错了。
"What?" we objected. "What do you mean? Aren't we going to The Matinee? Mommy, you said that we are going to the Matinee." Mother stooped and gathered us in her arms. I couldn't understand why there were tears in her eyes. We still had the time to get the bus, but hugging us, she gently explained this is a fib felt like. "It is important that what we say is true," Mom said. "I fibbed to you just now and it felt awful to me. I don't ever want to fib again and I'm sure you don't want to fib again either. People must be able to believe each others. Do you understand? "
“什么?”我们反问道。“你是什么意思?我们不去看日场?妈妈，你说过我们要是去看日场的。”这时，母亲弯下腰，把我们抱在怀里。我无法理解当时她的眼睛里为什么会有泪水。其实，我们还有时间赶车去看日场，妈妈拥抱着我们，轻轻解释说那就是被谎言欺骗的感觉。妈妈说。“我刚刚对你们撒了谎，我也感到很不舒服。我不想撒谎，但我要确定你们不会撒谎了。人们必须能够相信彼此，明白吗?”
We assured her that we understood. We would never forget. And since we had learned a lesson, why not go to the movie to see The Matinee. There were still time. Not today. Mother told us.
我们向她保证我们理解了。然而，既然我们已经吸取了教训，为什么不能去看日场。母亲告诉我们说我们可以去，但不是那天，是以后。
We would go another time. That is how over fifty years ago, my sister and I learned to be truthful. We have never forgotten how much a fib can be hurt.
五十多年前，我和妹妹学会了真诚。我们永远不会忘记一个小谎言可以带来的伤害有多大。
