给乞丐的五法郎

字幕原文

Whenever an old beggar asks me for money, 每当有老乞丐向我要钱，

I give him five francs. 我都会给他五法郎。

My friends think I'm foolish. 朋友们都觉得我挺傻的。

Let me tell you why. 我来告诉你为什么。

My family lived in Le Havre, and we weren't rich. 我家以前住在勒阿弗尔，并不富裕。

We just managed to make ends meet. 日子过得紧巴巴的，勉强糊口。

My father worked in an office, 我父亲是个坐办公室的小职员，

came home late, and didn't earn much. 每天很晚才回家，挣得也不多。

I had two older sisters. 我有两个姐姐。

My mother suffered terribly from our tight budget, 手头紧的日子让我母亲吃尽了苦头，

and often had sharp, bitter words for my father. 她经常对我父亲说些尖酸刻薄的难听话。

Every penny was counted. 每一分钱都得精打细算。

We never accepted a dinner invitation, 我们从不接受别人的吃饭邀请，

so we'd never have to return one. 免得回头还得回请人家。

My sisters made their own dresses, 姐姐们的裙子都是自己做的，

and argued for fifteen minutes over the price of a ribbon. 还会为了一根丝带的价钱跟人争论上一刻钟。

When you're poor, keeping up appearances can cost more than anything else. 人穷的时候，死要面子的代价往往比什么都大。

And all our hopes rested on one man: my Uncle Jules. 而我们全家的希望全寄托在一个人的身上：我的于勒叔叔。