英语沙龙:The Chest of Broken Glass-装满碎玻璃的大箱

The Chest1) of Broken Glass   

    John had lived all alone ever since his wife died．He had worked hard as a tailor2) all his life，but misfortune 1 had left him penniless，and now he was so old he could no longer work for himself．His hands trembled too much to thread a needle，and his vision had blurred 2 too much for him to make a straight stitch3)．He had three sons，but they were all grown and married now，and they were so busy with their own lives，they only had time to stop by and eat dinner with their father once a week．

    Gradually the old man grew more and more feeble4)，and his sons came by to see him less and less．“They don't want to be around me at all now，” he told himself，“because they're afraid I'll become a burden．” He stayed up all night worrying what would become of him，until at last he thought of a plan．

    The next morning he went to see his friend the carpenter，and asked him to make a large chest．Then he went to see his friend the locksmith5)，and asked him to give him an old lock．Finally he went to see his friend the glassblower6)，and asked him for all the old broken pieces of glass he had．

    The old man took the chest home，filled it to the top with broken glass，locked up tight，and put it beneath his kitchen table． The next time his sons came for dinner，they bumped 3 their feet against it．

    “What's in this chest？”they asked，looking under the table．

    “Oh，nothing，”the old man replied，“just some  things I've been saving．”

    His sons nudged7) it and was surprized how heavy it was．They kicked it and heard a rattling8) inside．

    It must be full of all the gold he's saved over the years，” they whispered to one another．

    So they talked it over and realized they needed to guard the treasure．They decided 4 to take turns living with the old man，and that way they could look after him，too．So the first week the youngest son moved in with his father，and cared and cooked for him．The next week the middle son took his place，and the week afterward 5 the eldest 6 son took a turn．This went on for some time．

    At last the old father grew sick and died．The sons gave him a very nice funeral，for they knew there was a fortune sitting beneath the kitchen table，and they could afford to splurge9) a little on the old man now．

    When the service was over，they hunted through the house until they found the key，and unlocked 7 the chest．And of course they found it full of broken glass．

But the eldest son tipped10) the chest over to make sure there was nothing valuable hidden among the glass after all．He poured the broken glass onto the floor until it was empty．Then the three brothers stared inside，where they now read an inscription11) on the bottom：Honor12) Your Father And Mother．

装满碎玻璃的大箱子    

约翰自从妻子去世之后就一直孤零零地生活着。他干了一辈子的裁缝，但时运不济，到头来他一贫如洗。现在他太老了，已经不能再自食其力。他的双手抖得太厉害，针线都穿不上，眼睛老花得连线都轧不直。他有三个儿子，但他们都已经长大成人，结婚成家，各自忙于自己的生活，每星期只能抽空来一次陪老父亲一起吃顿饭。

    慢慢地，老人越来越衰弱，儿子们来看他的次数也越来越少。“他们现在根本不想再理我了，”他自言自语，“因为他们怕我成为他们的负担。”他一宿没合眼，不知自己将来会怎样，直到最后想出了一个方案。

    第二天一早，他去见他一个木匠朋友，请他做个大箱子。之后他又去见他的锁匠朋友，要了一把旧锁。最后他去见他吹玻璃的朋友，向他索取所有废旧的碎玻璃。

    老人把大箱子运回家，里面装满碎玻璃，锁得严严实实，然后将箱子放在餐桌下面。等他的儿子们再来吃饭时，他们的脚踢到了箱子上。

    “这个大箱子里装的什么？”他们看着桌子底下问道。

    “噢，没什么，”老人回答，“只是我一直在积攒的一些东西。”

    他的儿子们用手推了推，惊奇地发现它很沉。然后他们又用脚踢了踢，听到里面有叮当声。

    “里面一定是装满了他这些年来一直在积攒的金子，”他们互相耳语。

    因此，他们商量了一下，认为他们需要守护这财富。他们决定轮流来与老人一起住，这样他们还可以照顾一下老人。于是，第一个星期是最小的儿子搬了进来，照顾老人，还为他做饭。第二个星期老二来接班，之后是大儿子。这样持续了一段时间。

    最后老人得病死了。他的儿子们给他办了非常隆重的丧事，因为他们知道，餐桌下有一笔财富，现在可以为老家伙先挥霍一把。

    丧事完了之后，他们在房子里四处寻找，最后终于找着了钥匙打开箱子。当然他们发现里面装满了碎玻璃。老大把箱子翻倒过来，检查玻璃里到底有没有藏着贵重物品。他把所有的碎玻璃都倒在地板上，箱子空了，然后三兄弟一起注视箱子底部，发现上面有一行字：孝敬你们的父母。