LESSON 18

THE WIDOW AND THE MERCHANT

寡妇和商人

1．A merchant, who was very fond of music, was asked by a poor widow to give her some assistance. Her husband, who was a musician, had died, and left her very poor indeed.

2．The merchant saw that the widow and her daughter, who was with her, were in great distress. He looked with pity into their pale faces, and was convinced by their conduct that their sad story was true.

3．"How much do you want, my good woman?" said the merchant.

4．"Five dollars will save us," said the poor widow, with some hesitation.

5．The merchant sat down at his desk, took a piece of paper, wrote a few lines on it, and gave it to the widow with the words, "Take it to the bank you see on the other side of the street."

6．The grateful widow and her daughter, without stopping to read the note, hastened to the bank. The banker at once counted out fifty dollars instead of five, and passed them to the widow.

7．She was amazed when she saw so much money. "Sir, there is a mistake here," she said. "You have given me fifty dollars, and I asked for only five."

8．The banker looked at the note once more, and said, "The check calls for fifty dollars."

9．"It is a mistake—indeed it is," said the widow.

10．The banker then asked her to wait a few minutes, while he went to see the merchant who gave her the note.

11．"Yes." said the merchant, when he had heard the banker's story, "I did make a mistake. I wrote fifty instead of five hundred. Give the poor widow five hundred dollars, for such honesty is poorly rewarded with even that sum."

【中文阅读】

1．有一个商人很喜欢音乐，一个可怜的穷寡妇曾经向他求助。她的丈夫是一个音乐家，可惜英年早逝，给她留下了少得可怜的财产。

2．商人注意到，这个寡妇和她身边的女儿极其贫困。他很同情地看着寡妇那苍白的脸，心中已被她们的行为说服了，对她们那悲伤的故事信以为真。

3．“你想要多少钱，夫人？”商人说。

4．“5美元就能救救我们了。”这个可怜的寡妇略带犹疑地说。

5．商人坐在桌前，拿出一张纸，写下了几行字，然后递给寡妇，说：“把它拿到街对面的那家银行去换钱吧。”

6．感激不尽的寡妇和女儿甚至都没有认真看字条，就急忙赶到了银行。银行里的职员并没有给她五美元，而是立刻数出了五十美元，递到这个寡妇手里。

7．看到这么多钱，她惊呆了。“先生，是不是弄错了，”她说，“您给了我五十美元，而我只要了五美元。”

8．银行里的职员马上又看了一下支票，说：“这是一张五十美元的支票。”

9．寡妇又说：“那一定是弄错了。”

10．银行职员让她耐心等几分钟，然后就去找开出支票的商人。

11．当商人听完银行职员的叙述后，说：“是的，我犯了一个错误。我只写下了五十美元，而不是五百美元。给那个可怜的寡妇五百美元吧，因为这种诚实的美德多少钱也换不来。”