Bert's Thanksgiving Short Stories Part 5
小伯特的感恩節(jié)（第五話）

"So this is your place of business?" said Bert, glancing about the plain office room. "What do you do here?"
“所以這里是您工作的地方嗎？”伯特環(huán)視了一周這間簡樸的辦公室，接著問道：“您在這里是做什么工作呢？”

"I buy real estate, sometimes—sell—rent—and so forth."
“我是做房地產(chǎn)生意的，有時(shí)會(huì)賣掉、租賃房子等等?！?/div>

"Who for?" asked Bert.“
那是為誰打工呢？”伯特問。

"For myself," said the old gentleman, with a smile.“
“給我自己打工”，老先生微笑著說。

Bert was shocked! This was the man whom he had invited to dinner last Thursday!?
伯特很震驚。這真的是上周四他邀請一起吃晚餐的老人嗎??？

"I—I—I thought—you were a poor man!"
“我——我——我以為——你是一個(gè)貧窮的人！”

"I am a poor man," said Mr. Crooker, locking his safe. "Money doesn't make a man rich. I've enough money. I own houses in the city. They give me something to think about and keep me busy. I had truer riches once, but I lost them long ago."
“我的確是一個(gè)窮人”，克魯克先生一邊說說，一邊鎖上了他的保險(xiǎn)箱。“金錢并不會(huì)使一個(gè)人富有。我有足夠的錢，在城里也有幾套房子，我每天都要忙碌于管理這些財(cái)產(chǎn)。但實(shí)際上我曾經(jīng)擁有更真實(shí)的財(cái)富，可惜我在很久之前就失去了他們?！?/div>

From the way the old man's voice trembled and eyes glistened, Bert thought he must have meant by these riches, the friends he had lost, wife and children, perhaps.
說到這里，老人的聲音開始顫抖，眼里也閃現(xiàn)出了淚光，伯特意識(shí)到了這些所謂的“財(cái)富”其實(shí)有更深的含義，也許是指他失去的朋友，妻子和孩子。

"To think of me inviting you to dinner!"
“想想我還請你吃過飯呢！”

"It was odd. But it may turn out to have been a lucky circumstance for both of us. I like you. I believe in you, and I've an offer to make you. I want a trusty, bright boy in this office, somebody I can bring up in my business, and leave it with, as I get too old to run it myself. What do you say?"
“說來奇怪。不過對于我們兩個(gè)來說也很有緣。我喜歡你，也信任你，因此我也想為你提供一個(gè)工作的機(jī)會(huì)。我想聘用一個(gè)可靠開朗的男孩在這間辦公室工作，不僅能輔助我工作，也能在工作時(shí)間之外相互照應(yīng)。如今我年事已高，無法自己運(yùn)作它。你覺得怎么樣呢？”

What could Bert say?
面對這樣一個(gè)難得的機(jī)會(huì)，伯特又怎么會(huì)拒絕呢？

The lonely, childless old man, who owned so many houses, wanted a home and a family. One of his houses he offered to Bert's mother, with ample support for herself and children if she would allow him to live with them like a grandfather.
這樣一個(gè)孤獨(dú)，沒有子女陪伴的老人，即便擁有很多房子，但內(nèi)心更加渴望有一個(gè)真正的家，有一個(gè)完整的家庭。老人把很多房子中的一套給了伯特的母親，也給她和她的孩子提供了充足的物質(zhì)支持，不過前提是她同意老人跟他們住在一起，就像孩子的祖父一樣。

Of course she accepted; and Bert soon saw all his dreams come true. He had employment, which promised to become a profitable business, as indeed it did in a few years. The old man and the boy proved very useful to each other; and, more than that, he was united once more with his mother and sisters in a happy home, where he has since had many Thanksgiving dinners.
當(dāng)然她接受了，與此同時(shí)，伯特也很快就看見了他所有的夢想都逐漸成真。他順利就業(yè)，從事著一項(xiàng)利益頗豐的生意，而這的確讓伯特在幾年里獲益不少。老人和這個(gè)男孩也漸漸離不開彼此，更重要的是，他能夠在這樣一個(gè)幸福的家庭里常常跟母親和姐妹見面，也自從那以后，他每年都能跟家人一起過感恩節(jié)了。

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