Every afternoon, Ben and Jae met at the school gate. They always walked home together. On Monday, Ben waited until the gate was almost empty. Jae did not come.
每天下午，本和杰都在校门口碰面。他们总是一起走回家。星期一，本一直等到校门口几乎没人了。杰还是没有来。
Ben kicked a stone and checked his watch. Two minutes passed, then ten. The street grew quiet. "Maybe he forgot," Ben thought. He started walking alone, but he kept looking back.
本踢着一颗小石子，又看了看手表。两分钟过去了，接着十分钟也过去了。街道安静下来。“也许他忘了。”本想。他开始一个人往前走，却总忍不住回头。
At school the next day, Jae found Ben by the water fountain. "Why did you leave?" Ben asked. Jae held up a small paper crane. "I stayed to help Mrs. Lee clean the art room."
第二天在学校，杰在饮水机旁找到了本。“你为什么先走了？”本问。杰举起一只小小的纸鹤。“我留下来帮李老师打扫美术教室了。”
Ben looked at the floor. "I thought you forgot our promise," he said. Jae shook his head. "I should have told you," he said. "But I did not want to leave the mess for someone else."
本看着地面。“我以为你忘了我们的约定。”他说。杰摇了摇头。“我应该告诉你的。”他说，“可是我不想把一团乱留给别人收拾。”
That afternoon, they met at the gate again. Ben had brought two small paper cranes. "One for waiting," he said, "and one for helping." Jae laughed and put one in his pocket.
那天下午，他们又在校门口见面了。本带来了两只小纸鹤。“一只是为等待，”他说，“一只是为帮忙。”杰笑了，把其中一只放进口袋。
They agreed on a new promise. If one of them was late, he would leave a chalk mark on the gate. Then the other would know to wait or walk on. Now their promise had room for kindness.
他们约定了一个新办法。如果谁迟到了，就在校门上留下一个粉笔记号。这样另一个人就知道是该等一等，还是先走。现在，他们的约定里也有了体谅的位置。