一杯牛奶

One day, a poor boy who was trying to pay his way through school by selling goods door to door found that he only had one dime left. He was hungry so he decided to beg for a meal at the next house.

一天，一個貧窮的小男孩為了攢夠學費正挨家挨戶地推銷商品。饑寒交迫的他摸遍全身，卻只有一角錢。于是他決定向下一戶人家討口飯吃。

However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”

然而，當一位美麗的年輕女子打開房門的時候，這個小男孩卻有點不知所措了。他沒有要飯，只乞求給他一口水喝。這位女子看到他饑餓的樣子，就倒了一大杯牛奶給他。男孩慢慢地喝完牛奶，問道：“我應該付多少錢?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught me never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said,“Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but it also increased his faith in God and the human race. He was about to give up and quit before this point.

年輕女子微笑著回答：“一分錢也不用付。我媽媽教導我，施以愛心，不圖回報。”男孩說：“那么，就請接受我由衷的感謝吧!”說完，霍華德·凱利就離開了這戶人家。此時的他不僅自己渾身是勁兒，而且更加相信上帝和整個人類。本來，他都打算放棄了。

Years later the young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where specialists can be called in to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly, now famous was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately, he rose and went down through the hospital hall into her room.

數年之后，那位女子得了一種罕見的重病，當地醫生對此束手無策。最后，她被轉到大城市醫治，由專家會診治療。大名鼎鼎的霍華德·凱利醫生也參加了醫療方案的制定。當他聽到病人來自的那個城鎮的名字時，一個奇怪的念頭霎時間閃過他的腦際。他馬上起身直奔她的病房。

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room and determined to do his best to save her life. From that day on, he gave special attention to her case.

身穿手術服的凱利醫生來到病房，一眼就認出了恩人。回到會診室后，他決心一定要竭盡所能來治好她的病。從那天起，他就特別關照這個對自己有恩的病人。

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it and then wrote something on the side. The bill was sent to her room. She was afraid to open it because she was positive that it would take the rest of her life to pay it off. Finally she looked, and the note on the side of the bill caught her attention. She read these words...

經過艱苦的努力，手術成功了。凱利醫生要求把醫藥費通知單送到他那里，他看了一下，便在通知單的旁邊簽了字。當醫藥費通知單送到她的病房時，她不敢看。因為她確信，治病的費用將會花費她整個余生來償還。最后，她還是鼓起勇氣，翻開了醫藥費通知單，旁邊的那行小字引起了她的注意，她不禁輕聲讀了出來：

“Paid in full with a glass of milk.”

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly

“醫藥費已付：一杯牛奶。”

(簽名)霍華德·凱利醫生

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as she prayed silently:“Thank You, God. Your love has spread through human hearts and hands.”

喜悅的淚水溢出了她的眼睛，她默默地祈禱著：“謝謝你，上帝，你的愛已通過人類的心靈和雙手傳播了。”