En typisk anledning til konflikter i hverdagen er, at hver part taler ud fra forskellige forudsætninger. Vi bliver hver især overbeviste om at vi har ret og at den anden er helt galt på den. Det løses sig, hvis man opdager hvordan parternes antagelser er forskellige. Det er også et klassisk script for en joke, en komedie eller et revynummer. Jeg fandt digtet om “The Cookie Thief” i en “Chickensoup for the Soul” bog og fandt den værd at oversætte til dansk.
En kvinde måtte vente i mindst en time,
i en lufthavn før hendes næste maskine.
Hun købte en bog og en pose kager med,
og fandt et hjørne for at slå sig ned.Var optaget af bogen, og alligevel hun så,
en mand ved siden af, med frækhed udenpå
tog en kage fra posen, som imellem dem lå.
Hun lod det passere, for en pinlighed at undgå.Hun læste, spiste kager, og holdt øje med tiden,
imens “kagetyven” tog for sig, og posen blev liden.
Som tiden gik, hun blev tiltagende misfornøjet,
og tænkte ved sig selv: Han burde ha’ én på øjet.For hver en kage hun tog, han tog én til.
Kun én tilbage, hun tænkte, hvad mon han nu vil.
Med en latter, lidt usikker og smil på sin læbe,
han tog den sidste kage, og brød den i to dele.Han tilbød hende den ene, imens han spiste den anden.
Hun snuppede den fra ham og tænkte, “din fanden.”
En mand uden manérer, han har ikke engang pli,
han burde i stedet være taknemmelig.Hun havde ej nogensinde før været så vred.
Endelig der om hendes fly kom besked.
Hun samlede sine ting, styrede mod udgangen.
Så ej tilbage, på tyven med kage trangen.Ombord i flyet, sit bælte hun spændte.
Ledte efter bogen, fortsættelsen i vente.
Greb ned i tasken, forbavset over dens lager.
Troede ej sine øjne: en hel pose kager.“Hvis mine er her” hun sukkede fortvivlet.
“De andre var hans, og dele han villet.
“For sent at undskylde, hun indså bedrøvet,
hun selv var tyven, som havde berøvet.
Digtet er frit oversat af Mathilde Feldstedt fra denne oprindelige version på engelsk.
A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.
As the gutsy “cookie thief” deminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye!”
With each cookie she took, he took one too.
When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other.
She snatched from him and thought, “Oh brother,
This guy has som nerve, and he’s also rude,
Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!”
She had never known, when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,
Refusing to look back at the “Thieving ingrate”.
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete,
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise.
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!
“If mine are here,” she moaned with despair,
“Then the others were his, and he tried to share!”
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That SHE was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!
Written by Valerie Cox