小言

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work， his electric saw quit and now his pick-up truck refused to start. While I drove him home， he sat in stony silence. On arriving， he invited me to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door， he paused briefly at a small tree， touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door， he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles， and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward he walked me back to my car. We passed the tree and I asked him what I had seen him do earlier. “Oh， thats my trouble tree，” he replied. “I know I cant help having troubles on the job， but one thing is sure， troubles dont belong to my wife and children. So I just hung them up to the tree every night before I came home. Then in the morning I pick them up again. Funny thing is， when I came out in the morning to pick them up， there arent as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

我雇了一位木匠修理旧农舍。工作第一天，他实在倒霉：一个轮胎爆了，耽误了他一个小时，接着电锯罢工，现在他的卡车又拒绝起动。在我驾车送他回家的路上，他像石头一样坐在那儿，一声不吭。到他家院子后，他邀请我见见他的家人。我们往前门走的时候，在一棵小树前，他双手抓着树枝末梢停留了一会。

打开门的那一刻他的表情就变了，晒黑的脸上绽放着笑容，让我惊讶不已。他抱了抱两个孩子，并吻了妻子。随后，他送我上车。再经过那棵树时，我问他刚才在树前干什么。“噢，那是我的烦恼树。”他回答，“我知道工作总有烦恼，但有一点是肯定的，这些烦恼不属于我的妻子和孩子。所以，我每晚回家前把它们挂在树上，第二天早上再去取。有趣的是，我早上把它们取回来时，它们就没有我记忆中昨晚挂上去的那么多了。”endprint