成长的故事 | 《天堂里的佩妮》

为你读英语美文 · 第332期 成长的故事 | 《天堂里的佩妮》


主播：娇娇（10岁）
坐标：芝加哥


夏天，11岁的佩妮像其他女孩一样，期待着游泳、棒球、黄油核桃冰激凌，然而身在一个意大利裔美国家庭，事情却没有这么简单。


母亲与奶奶不断发生冲突，心爱的小狗生了病，最喜欢的叔叔要搬出去住，好朋友成了罪犯……更重要的是，没有人告诉她父亲去世的真相。


詹妮弗·L.霍尔姆所著的《天堂里的佩妮》讲述了一个小女孩满含感伤与喜悦的成长故事，一场充满秘密的夏日冒险，一个历经伤痛又因为爱而重聚的家庭，一段意大利裔美国人努力克服偏见、赢得尊重的心路历程。


注：Penny from Heaven 有译为《天堂里的佩妮》，也有译为《天堂里的便士》。


今天，同样来自美国，也和佩妮年纪相仿的娇娇为你讲述这个故事。
 
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Penny from Heaven
《天堂里的佩妮》
作者：詹妮弗·L.霍尔姆；英文整理，翻译：京京


Penny from Heaven is the story of an eleven-year-old-girl named Penny. She believes that people call her Penny because her father, Alfred Falucci, loved the Bing Crosby song "Pennies from Heaven." After her father's death, Penny lives with her mother and grandparents, and Penny also loves to spend time with her father's Italian family. Her father was the oldest son of her grandmother, and the only one who was born in Italy. Penny does not know why nobody will tell her her father's real cause of death. 
《天堂里的佩妮》是一个名叫佩妮的11岁女孩的故事。她相信人们称她为Penny (便士，硬币的一种），因为她的父亲法鲁其喜欢一首歌曲“天堂的便士”。在她父亲去世后，佩妮和她的母亲以及祖父母生活在一起。佩妮也喜欢与她父亲的意大利家庭共度时光。她的父亲是长子，也是唯一出生在意大利的孩子。佩妮不知道为什么没有人会告诉她，父亲真正的死因。


Her favorite uncle is named Dominic. Her uncle and her mom used to be good friends. Penny wants him to marry her mother and become her new father. She is disappointed when she finds out her mother is dating with other man. She decides to break her mother's relationship with that man, and is rude during a dinner party. She asks him uncomfortable questions and compares him to her father. 
她最喜欢的叔叔是一个叫多米尼克的人。她的叔叔和她的妈妈曾经是好朋友。佩妮希望多米尼克娶她的母亲，成为她的新父亲。而当她发现母亲正在与另一个人约会时，她很失望，她决定打破他俩的关系，并在晚宴上表现得很粗鲁。她问了那人一些不舒服的问题，并将他与她的父亲比较。


One of her uncles tells Penny and Frankie her cousin that their grandfather Falucci hid money in their backyard but died before he could tell anyone his secret. They decide to find the money, and search all over the backyard. After they are unsuccessful, they want to look for the money in the basement. They wait for all the adults to leave and pretend to do laundry. Frankie finds money and is so excited. Penny is distracted and her right arm is pulled through the wringer all the way up to her armpit and is stuck, while the wringer is still going down.
她的一个叔叔告诉佩妮和法兰克( 她的表弟）他们的祖父法鲁其在他们的后院藏了钱，但在他告诉任何人他的秘密之前就死了。他们决定找钱，并搜遍了整个后院。在他们没有找到之后，他们想在地下室继续寻找钱。他们假装洗衣服并等待所有成年人离开。Frankie找到了钱，非常兴奋。 Penny因他的兴奋，不小心将右臂卡在了绞拧器里，而绞拧器仍在下降。


She wakes up in the hospital, where in a dream she hears her mother accusing her uncle Dominic for her father's death. After several weeks in the hospital, Penny still is not able to move her right arm's fingers. A doctor says that Penny's chances of remaining disabled are high. Penny wakes up at night and heard two nurses talking about her mother. They say her father was an Italian spy and was killed by the American government. 
她在医院醒来，佩妮仍然无法移动右臂的手指。医生说佩妮的残疾率很高。佩妮夜间醒来，听到两名护士在谈论她的母亲。他们说她的父亲是意大利间谍，被美国政府杀害。
Her aunt decides to tell her the truth. When Penny was a baby, her uncle Dominic bought her father a new radio. He didn't know Italians were not allowed to have this kind of radio. After Pearl Harbor, the country went crazy and all non-citizens were considered spies. Unfortunately, her father was born in Italy and was a not U.S. citizen. He got sick in the jail and died. In the last letter he wrote, " A baby is just like a lost penny,  I'll never hold again".


她的阿姨决定告诉佩妮真相。当佩妮还是个孩子的时候，她的叔叔多米尼克给她父亲买了一台新收音机。他不知道意大利人不允许有这种收音机。在珍珠港事件之后，这个国家变得很疯狂，所有非公民都被认为是间谍。不幸的是，她的父亲出生在意大利，不是美国公民。他最终在监狱里生病死了。在他的最后一封信中写道，“丢失了我的宝贝，就像丢失了一枚硬币一样，“我永远不能再拥抱她了”。


This is the real reason why everyone calls her "Penny". She realizes why her mom said Dominic killed her husband; he had bought the radio. She wants to see him and say that it is not his fault, but he never come back again. All she has left is her lucky bean from him. 
这就是为什么每个人都称她为“便士” 硬币的真正原因。她明白为什么她的妈妈说多米尼克杀了她的爸爸; 因为他买了收音机。佩妮想见到多米尼克，并告诉他这不是他的错，但是他再也没来过。他只留给佩妮 一颗幸运豆。


The girl who lives with Penny in the same room asks to see her lucky bean. Penny wants to reach it, but the bean slides off the table. She doesn't want to drop it, and catches it with her unmovable fingers. She moves her fingers and believes it was a mystery of her lucky bean.
与佩妮住在同一个房间的女孩要看她的幸运豆。 但豆子从桌子上滑了下来。她不想丢失它，竟然移动了不能动的手指, 也许这是那颗幸运豆给她带来的幸运。


 "Penny From Heaven" 被好莱坞拍成音乐剧后，
其中出现众多经典歌词，我为大家送上其中的一个吧。








A Penny from Heaven
《天堂里的便士》


I found a penny today
Just laying on the ground,
But it's not just a penny
This little coin I've found.
Found pennies come from heaven
That's what my Grandpa told me,
He said Angels toss them down.
今天我在地上
捡到一个便士，
但我捡到的这枚小小硬币
不仅仅是一个便士。
爷爷曾对我说
那可是来自天堂的便士
是天使所赐。


Oh,
How I loved that story.
He said when an Angel misses you
They toss a penny down,
Sometimes just to cheer you up
To make a smile out of your frown.
So don't pass by that penny
When you're feeling blue,
It may be a penny from heaven
That an Angel's tossed to you .


哦，
我可真喜欢这个故事。
他说当某个天使想你时
就会将一个便士抛下尘世，
有时仅仅是想让你打起精神
让你愁眉紧锁的脸重绽笑容。
所以当你心情沮丧时
就不要将那个便士忽视，
也许那就是天堂里
某个天使抛给你的便士


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Nina Zhan 娇娇  美籍华裔 10岁
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