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孩子们总是喜欢金钱做小小的礼物。当然，父亲会定期给零花钱，但是叔叔阿姨也是额外收入的一个来源。 对一些孩子来说，一点钱可以花很久。如果六便士的钱不拿去换糖的话，便可以在存钱罐里丁丁当当地响上几个月。只有非常节俭的孩子才能存满整个存钱罐。对于大多数孩子来说，用六便士换一块令他们满意的巧克力只是一笔小钱。 我的侄子乔治，有一个存钱罐，但却总是空着。我给他的钱很少有放进存钱罐的。昨天我给了他六便士，建议他存起来。但是他却给自己找了六便士的麻烦。在他去糖果店的路上，他把那六便士掉在了地上，而它又顺着人行道滚入了下水道。乔治脱下外套，卷起袖子，把他的右胳膊伸到了井盖的下面。他怎么都找不到那六便士，而且，他的胳膊也拿不出来了。一群人在他身边围观，一位女士在他的胳膊上涂上了肥皂和黄油，但是乔治的胳膊仍然紧紧地卡在里面。 有人叫来了消防队，两名消防人员用一种特别的润滑剂救出了乔治的胳膊。乔治并没有因为这次的经历而感到悲伤，因为开糖果店的女士听说了他的事情后，奖励给了他一大盒巧克力。 Sixpence Worth of Trouble Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Father, of course，provides a regular supply of pocket-money, but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income. With some children, small sums go a long way. If sixpences are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money-boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money-box. For most of them, sixpence is a small price to pay for a satisfying bar of chocolate. My nephew, George, has a money-box but it is always empty. Very few of the sixpences I have given him have found their way there. I gave him sixpence yesterday and advised him to save it. Instead, he bought himself sixpence worth of trouble. On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his sixpence and it rolled along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his sixpence anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out. A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George was firmly stuck. The fire-brigade was called and two firemen freed George using a special type of grease. George was not too upset by his experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles and rewarded him with a large box of chocolates. |
