I ran into a stranger as he passed by. “Oh, excuse me please” was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We said good-bye and we went on our way.
But at home a different story is told: how we treat our loved ones.
That day, when I was cooking the supper, my son stood beside me, very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
“Move out of the way,” I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed, God's small voice came to me and said, “While dealing with a stranger, you're very polite, but the family you love, you seem to abuse . Go and look on the kitchen floor; you'll find some flowers there by the door. Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise; you never saw the tears that filled his eyes.”
By this time I felt very small. And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed, “Wake up, little one, wake up,” I said. “Are these the flowers you picked for me?”
He smiled, “I found them, out by the tree. I picked them because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue.”
I said, “Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.”
He said, “Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway.”
I said, “Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”
我撞到一个过路的陌生人。我说：“哦，对不起。”
他说：“也请您原谅我；我当时没注意到您。”
我们都很有礼貌，我是说这位陌生人和我。
我们道了别，之后各自上路。
可是到了家里，当我们面对所爱的人，故事却是另一番景象：
那天，我正在做晚饭，儿子站在我旁边，一动不动。
我一转身，差点把他撞倒。
“别在这儿碍事。”我眉头一皱。
他走开了，幼小的心灵很受伤。
当时我没意识到自己说话有多严厉。
我醒着躺在床上，上帝小声对我说：“对待陌生人，你那么彬彬有礼；可是对自己爱的家人，你好像太凶了。去看看厨房的地板吧，地上靠门边有花儿。这些花儿是他带回来给你的。都是他自己摘的：有粉色的、黄色的和蓝色的。他之所以安安静静地站在那儿是要给你个惊喜。你都没看见他眼里噙满的泪水。”
此时此刻，我感觉自己无比渺小，我开始掉眼泪。
我安静地走过去，跪在他的床边，说：“醒醒，小家伙，醒醒。”我说，“这些花儿是你给妈妈摘的吗？”
他笑着说：“我在外面的树边上找到的，就摘了下来，因为它们跟你一样漂亮。我知道你肯定会喜欢的，尤其是蓝色的。”
我说：“儿子，真对不起。妈妈今天不该那样对你；不该那样冲你大吼大叫。”
他说：“哦，妈妈，没事儿的。无论如何，我都爱你。”
我说：“儿子，妈妈也爱你。妈妈很喜欢那些花儿，尤其是蓝色的。”
-harshly [hɑːʃlɪ] adv. 严厉地
-abuse [əˈbjuːz] v. 虐待；辱骂
成人世界里装满是非对错，孩童眼里只有爱和宽容。