文/By+Julie+Winterbottom+译/子昊

Does pulling pranks in childhood lead to success later in life？ Judging from the youthful pranks of these four famous people， the answer might be yes.

是不是小时候爱捉弄人长大了就有出息？如果从以下四位名人小时候的恶作剧来看，答案也许是肯定的。

Abraham Lincoln 亚伯拉罕·林肯

When Abraham Lincoln was a young man living at home， he was quite the prankster2）. His stepmother Sarah Bush Lincoln used to tease him about his height， telling him that he'd better keep his head clean or she'd have to scrub3） the ceiling. The story goes that one day when Sarah was out， Abe noticed two boys playing barefoot outside next to a mud puddle. He asked them to stomp4） in the mud until their feet were covered. Then he brought them back to the house. One by one， he carried them inside and held them upside down so their muddy feet could touch the ceiling. Then he had them "walk" across the ceiling， creating a trail of brown footprints. Sarah reportedly took the prank with good humor—but she did make Lincoln repaint the ceiling.

亚伯拉罕·林肯小时候在家里可是十分爱捉弄人的。他的继母萨拉·布什·林肯常常拿他的身高开玩笑，说他最好保持头发干净，否则她就得擦洗家里的天花板了。据说有一天萨拉外出时，阿贝（编注：亚伯拉罕的简称）看见两个小男孩光着脚在外面的泥塘旁边玩耍。他叫他们在泥里使劲跺脚，让脚上沾满泥，然后把他们带回了家。他把他们逐个抱进屋，头朝下举起来，好让他们的泥脚丫能碰着天花板。接着，他举着他们在天花板上“走”了一圈，留下一串棕色的脚印。据说萨拉对这个恶作剧表现得很大度，不过她还是让林肯把天花板重新粉刷了一遍。

Franklin D. Roosevelt 富兰克林·D·罗斯福

Franklin D. Roosevelt is another president who got an early start pulling pranks. Young Franklin was looked after by a doting5） mother and a series of nurses， governesses6）， and tutors. When he was ten， a German-speaking nurse accompanied the family on their annual tour of Europe and became the inevitable victim of a prank. Franklin snuck into her room during the day and poured a few spoonfuls of effervescent7） powder in the chamber pot8） under her bed. That night， when the nurse relieved herself9）， the contents of the pot began to hiss and roil. Thinking she was ill， the nurse ran to Mrs. Roosevelt's room for help. Roosevelt later said that the two women never figured out it was a prank—but his father did. The senior Roosevelt summoned his son to the smoking room to be reprimanded10）， but he couldn't keep a straight face11）. Breaking into laughter， he told his son， "Consider yourself spanked12）."

富兰克林·D·罗斯福也是位从小就爱搞恶作剧的总统。罗斯福小的时候，照顾他的除了十分宠爱他的母亲，还有一群女护工、保姆和家庭教师。罗斯福十岁时，一个说德语的女护工跟随罗斯福一家踏上了一年一度的欧洲之旅，从而不可避免地成了他捉弄的对象。有一天，罗斯福在白天偷偷溜进那个女护工的房间，往她床下的便盆里倒了几勺泡腾散。当天夜里，女护工起床方便后，便盆里的东西就开始嘶嘶冒泡。女护工以为自己生病了，赶忙跑到罗斯福夫人的房间求助。罗斯福后来说，那两位女士一直都没发现那是个恶作剧——不过他的父亲看出来了。……