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“Mrs. Martin is like a mother to me. I would never be that cruel. I may sound cruel because I’m doing my best to point something out to the two of you. I want to expand your point of view so you can see something most people never have the benefit of seeing because their vision is too narrow. Most people never see the trap they are in.”
“马丁太太对我就像妈妈一样，我决不会那么残忍地看待她。我上面的话可能听起来很无情，那是因为我在尽力向你们说明一些事情。我想拓宽你们的视野，让你们看清一些东西。这些东西甚至连大多数成年人也从没认清，因为他们眼界太狭窄了。大多数人从未认识到他们是在陷阱之中。”
Mike and I sat there, uncertain of his message. He sounded cruel, yet we could sense he was desperately wnat us to know something.
迈克和我还是不太明白他的意思。他的话听起来很无情，然而我们能感到他确实是急于想让我们明白。
With a smile, rich dad said, “Doesn’t that 25 cents an hour sound good? Doesn’t it make your heart beat a little faster?”
富爸爸又笑着说：“25美分每小时怎么样？这样是否让你们心跳加速？”
I shook my head no, but it really did. Twenty-five cents an hour would be big bucks to me.
我摇摇头说：“不会啊。”可事实上，25美分每小时对我而言可真是不小的数目啊！
“Okay, I’ll pay you a dollar an hour,” rich dad said, with a sly grin.
“那么，我每小时给你1美元。”富爸爸说，脸上露出狡黠的笑容。
Now my heart was beginning to race. My brain was screaming, “Take it. Take it.” I could not believe what I was hearing. Still, I said nothing.
我的心开始狂跳，脑袋里有个声音在喊：“接受，快接受。”但我不相信我所听到的，所以什么也没说。
“Okay, two dollars an hour.”
“好吧，每小时2美元。”
My little nine-year-old brain and heart nearly exploded. After all, it was 1956 and being paid $2 an hour would have made me the richest kid in the world. I couldn’t imagine earning that kind of money. I wanted to say yes. But somehow my mouth stayed shut.Maybe my brain is overheated and blown to refuse, but deep down I wanted that 2 dollars an hour.
我这个9岁孩子的大脑和心脏几乎要爆炸了。毕竟这是1956年，每小时2美元的薪水将使我成为世界上最有钱的孩子！我无法想象能挣到这么多钱。我想说“好的”，真想和他成交。但我还是莫名地缄口不言。也许我的脑袋已经热昏了，但在内心深处，我非常想要那每小时的2美元。
The ice cream had melted and was running down my hand. Rich dad was looking at two boys staring back at him, eyes wide open and brains empty. He was testing us, and he knew there was a part of our emotions that wanted to take the deal.
冰激凌化了，顺着我的手流了下来。地上留下一滩黏黏的香草和巧克力味的冰激凌，蚂蚁正在享受它们。富爸爸看到两个孩子盯着他，眼睛睁得大大的，脑子里却空空如也。他是在考验我们，而且他也知道我们很想接受这笔交易。
“Okay, five dollars an hour.”
“好，5美元每小时。”
Suddenly there was silent inside me. Something had changed. The offer was too big and got ridiculous. Not many grown-ups in 1956 made more than five dollars an hour, the temptation disappeared, and calm set in. Slowly, I turned to my left to look at Mike. He looked back at me. The part of my soul that was weak and needy was silenced. The part of me that had no price took over. There was a calm and a certainty that money had entered my brain and my soul. I knew Mike had gotten to that point also.
我的内心突然平静了，想法发生了转变。这个出价太高了，高得有些离谱。在1956年，就算成年人也没有几个能每小时挣5美元的。诱惑突然不见了，我恢复了平静。我轻轻转向左边去看迈克，他也在看我。我灵魂中软弱而贫乏的一面沉默了，无法用钱收买的一面占了上风。面对钱，我开始心安神定。我知道迈克也一样。
