Selfless love
—By Andrew
My wife shouted, "How long will you be poring1 over that newspaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?"I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.“你还要钻研你的报纸多久？”我的妻子喊道。“你能不能过来让你的宝贝女儿吃点饭？”我扔下报纸，匆忙来到了现场。我的独生女儿辛杜看起来一副受了惊吓的样子，眼泪在眼眶里打转，面前是一碗盛到了碗沿的米饭。
Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox2, and believe firmly in the "cooling effects" of Curd Rice! I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl.
"Sindu, darling, why don’t you take a few mouthfuls of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad’s sake, dear? And, if you don’t, your Mom will shout at me."I could sense my wife’s scowl3 behind my back. Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
辛杜刚满八岁，是个好孩子，在同龄人当中算得上相当聪明伶俐。可她特别不喜欢吃米饭，而我的妈妈和妻子却又都是非常传统的人，她们坚信米饭的“冷静效应”。我清了清喉咙，拿起了饭碗。
“辛杜，宝贝，为什么你不吃几口米饭呢？就算为了爸爸，好吗？如果你不吃，你妈就会对我大吼大叫。”我都能感觉到背后妻子的愤怒。辛杜缓和了一点，用手背擦了擦眼泪。
"OK, Dad. I will eat —not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole of it. But, ..." Sindu hesitated, "Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?"
"Oh, sure, darling." "Promise?" "Promise."I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine and clinched the deal.
"Ask Mom also to give a similar promise," my daughter insisted.
My wife slapped her hand on Sindu’s, muttering, "Promise," without any emotion.
“好的，爸爸。我吃。而且，不仅仅只吃几口，还要吃完整碗饭。但是，……”辛杜欲言又止。“爸爸，如果我吃完整碗饭，你会给我任何我想要的东西吗？”
“哦，当然了，亲爱的。”
“发誓？”
“发誓。”我用手盖住了女儿伸来的软软的粉色小手，敲定了这个“交易”。
“让妈妈也同样发誓。”女儿坚持道。
妻子也用手拍了一下辛杜的小手，毫无感情地咕哝道：“发誓。”
Now I became a bit anxious.
"Sindu dear, you shouldn’t insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?"
"No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive."
Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested.
After the ordeal4 was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.
现在我有点担心了。
“亲爱的辛杜，你可不应该坚持要一台电脑或是任何昂贵的东西啊，爸爸现在没有这份钱，知道吗？”
“不会的，爸爸，我不会要任何贵的东西。”
慢慢地，也是很痛苦地，她吃完了整碗饭。我对妈妈和妻子有点生闷气了，怎么能这样强迫孩子吃她不喜欢的东西呢！
痛苦终于结束了，辛杜来到了我面前，眼睛睁得大大的，满是期待。我们所有人的注意力都集中在了她身上。
"Dad, I want to have my hair shaved off, this Sunday!" was her demand.
"Atrocious!" shouted my wife, "A girl having her hair shaved off? Impossible!"
"Never in our family!" my mother rasped5. "She has been watching too much television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!"
"Sindu darling, why don’t you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head."
"No, Dad. I do not want anything else," Sindu said with finality.
“爸爸，这周日我想把头发剃掉！”她要求道。
“太恐怖了！”妻子喊道。“一个小姑娘剃掉她的头发？不可能！”
“在我们家里绝不允许这样的事。”我的妈妈也厉声说，“她看了太多的电视，而我们的文化却正在被这些电视节目彻底地破坏！”
“辛杜，亲爱的，为什么你不能要求点别的什么呢？我们看到你剃光头发会很难过的。”
“不，爸爸。我不想要别的。”辛杜坚决地说。
"Please, Sindu, why don’t you try to understand our feelings?" I tried to plead with her.
"Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice." Sindu was in tears. "And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral6 that we should honor our promises no matter what?"
It was time for me to call the shots7. "Our promise must be kept."
"Are you out of your mind?" chorused my mother and wife.
"No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled."
“拜托，辛杜，为什么你不能试着理解一下我们的感受呢？”我试着恳求她。
“爸爸，你没看见我吃那碗米饭有多么困难吗？”辛杜含着眼泪说。“你向我保证了要给我想要的东西，可是现在，你却要反悔。你给我讲的哈利施昌德拉国王的故事不是这样的，它不是告诉我们无论如何都要信守自己的承诺吗？”
现在是我做决断的时候了。“我们一定要遵守承诺。”
“你疯了吗？”我的妈妈和妻子齐声说。
“一点也没有。如果我们反悔，她将永远不会知道如何去遵守自己的承诺。辛杜，你的愿望将会实现。”
With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful. On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile.
Just then, a boy alighted8 from a car, and shouted, "Sinduja, please wait for me!"
What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. Maybe, that is the in-stuff, I thought.
辛杜长着一张圆脸，剃光头发后，她的眼睛看起来又大又漂亮。星期一的早晨，我开车把她送到了学校。看着我光头的女儿走向教室，那真是一景。她转过身来，挥了挥手。我微笑着也对她挥了下手。
就在那时，一个男孩从一辆汽车里走了出来，喊道：“辛杜嘉，请等等我！”
让我吃惊的是，这个男孩也是光头。也许，这就是女儿这么做的原因，我想。
"Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!"
Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car and continued.
“先生，你女儿辛杜嘉确实太伟大了！”
也没有做自我介绍，一位女士从汽车里出来说道。
"That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from leukemia." She paused to muffle9 her sobs. "Harish could not attend school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week and promised him that she would take care of the teasing issue. But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter."
“与您女儿一起走的男孩是我的儿子，哈利施。他正经受白血病的折磨。”她停下来用手掩住了自己的哽咽。“上个月，哈利施一整月都没去上学。因为化疗的副作用，他所有的头发都掉了。由于害怕同学们无意又令人痛苦的取笑，他拒绝再来上学。上周，辛杜嘉看望了他，并向他保证她将负责解决同学们取笑他的问题。可是，我真是想不到她竟然为了我儿子牺牲掉了自己美丽的头发！先生，您和夫人有这样一个灵魂高贵的女儿真是太有福气了。”
I stood transfixed10 and then, I wept.
"My little angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!"我呆站在了那里，然后，我哭了。
“我的小天使，你正在教我真正的爱是多么的无私！”
Notes:
1. pore v.认真研读,审阅
2. orthodox adj.正统的
3. scowl n.怒容,不悦的神色
4. ordeal n.磨难,折磨；严酷的考验
5. rasp v.声音尖厉地说
6. moral n.寓意,教益
7. call the shots控制局面,发号施令
8. alight v.从(公共汽车、火车等)下来
9. muffle v.压抑(声音),使听不清；覆盖,裹住
10. transfix v.(因恐惧、惊愕等)动弹不得,惊呆