I have a neighbor. He shouts at his kids a lot. He has a close friend with a little girl, Mindy. Does this guy also shout at his kids a lot? I don't know...

我有个邻居，他经常大声骂孩子。他的一个好朋友有个小女儿，叫明迪，但是我不知道那个人是否也经常大声骂孩子……

The other day, my neighbor's son Marco, 6, and Mindy, also 6, rang my door bell. "Marco threw his monster ball on your balcony. We want to get it - if you won't be angry?"

前几天，我邻居6岁的儿子马尔科和同岁的明迪按响了我的门铃。“马尔科把他的怪兽球扔到你家阳台了，我们想拿回它——你不会生气吧？”

Me: Of course I won't be angry. Come in.

我：当然不会生气。请进吧。

Mindy: Are you really not angry?

明迪：你真的没有生气？

Me: No.

我：真的不会。

Mindy: When are you angry?

明迪：那你什么时候生气呀？

Me: I'm never angry with kids.

我：我从不跟孩子生气。

Mindy: Really?

明迪：真的吗？

Me: Yes.

我：真的。

Mindy: Never?

明迪：从来没有？

Me: Never.

我：从来没有。

Mindy: Not even if we do something wrong?

明迪：即使我们做错了也不生气？

Me: No. I'd probably tell you it was wrong, but I wouldn't be angry.

我：不生气。我可能会告诉你那是错的，但是我不会生气。

Mindy looked at me, then repeated: "You won't be angry with me?"

明迪看着我，然后又说了一遍：“你真的不会跟我们生气？”

Me: I will never be angry with you.

我：我永远也不会跟你们生气。

She looked at me again, for a few seconds, then flung herself into my arms.

她又看了我几秒钟，然后飞扑进我的怀里。

I didn't even know her, before this. There's no saying exactly what the background is, but I found it sad.

在此之前我从未了解过她。我说不准背后的原因，但是我觉得这件事让人很难过。

In recent news, a man had entered into an electrified swimming pool to save his daughter and subsequently died from electrocution. His daughter survived.

最近有个新闻，有个男人进到一个通了电的游泳池去救他的女儿，随后他就触电死亡，但是他的女儿活下来了。

My 5-year-old son looked wide-eyed as I read the report to my wife. Silence overtook the room for a moment and then in a still, small voice he said, "Daddy, would you die for me?"

当我给妻子念这条新闻的时候，我5岁的儿子睁大眼睛看着我。一时间屋里一片寂静，过了一会儿，他平静而小声说道：“爸爸，你会为我而死吗？”

"Yes, of course."

“当然会。”

Tears welled up in his baby brown eyes. "I would die for you, too."

他棕色的眼睛里涌出了泪水。“我也会为你而死的。”

Needless to say, I swept him into my arms and broke down.

无需多言，我把他拥进怀里，失声痛哭。

I was out all day, and didn't check in with my son, thinking at his age (17) he wouldn't care what I was doing. I was wrong. He somehow got it into his head that I might have had an accident. And worse, since his father died, I am his only parent. He said to me later, in a tone that showed exactly how scared and hurt he was, that I had frightened him into thinking he now had no parents and was all alone in the world. Needless to say, I felt horrible and have vowed to check in if I am ever out later than expected.

我在外面呆了一整天，也没告诉我儿子，我觉得17岁的他不会在乎我在做什么。然而我错了。他莫名其妙地觉得我可能出事了。更糟糕的是，自从他爸爸去世后，我是他唯一的家长了。他随后对我说，我吓得他以为自己没有父母了、孤身一人活在世上，语气十分惊慌，很是受伤的样子。不用说，我觉得这很可怕，并且发誓如果我比预想中要晚回家的话一定会向他报备。