Fifty pence worth of trouble
五十便士的麻煩
Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Mum or dad, of course, provide a regular supply of pocket money, but uncles and ants are always a source of extra income. With some children, small sums go a long way. If fifty pence pieces are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside money boxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money box. For most of them, fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.
My nephew, George, has a money box but it is always empty. Very few of the fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way there. I gave him fifty pence yesterday and advised him to save it. Instead he bought himself fifty pence worth of trouble. On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his fifty pence and it bounced along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed is right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his fifty pence piece anywhere, and what is more, he could no get his arm out. A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George was firmly stuck. The fire brigade was called and two fire fighter freed George using a special type of grease. George was not too upset by his experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles and rewarded him with large box of chocolates.
孩子們總是喜歡得到一些零花錢。爸爸媽媽當(dāng)然經(jīng)常給孩子零花錢，但是，叔舅嬸姨也是孩子們額外收入來源。對于有些孩子來說，少量的錢可以花很長一段時間。如果50便士不拿來換糖吃，則可以放在儲蓄罐里叮當(dāng)響上好幾月。但是能把儲蓄罐裝滿的只有屈指可數(shù)的幾個特別節(jié)儉的孩子。對大部分孩子來說，用50便士來買一大塊好的巧克力，是算不了什么的。
我的外甥喬治有一個儲蓄罐，但總是空空的。我給了不少50便士的硬幣，但沒有幾個存到儲蓄罐里。昨天，我給了他50便士讓存起來，卻拿這錢給自己買了50便士的麻煩。在他去糖果店的路上，50便士掉在地上，在人行道上跳了幾下，掉進(jìn)了陰溝里。喬治脫掉外套，卷起袖子，將右胳膊伸進(jìn)了陰溝蓋。但他摸了半天也沒找到那50便士硬幣，他的胳膊反倒退不出來了。這時在他周圍上了許多人，一位女士在喬治胳膊上抹了肥皂，黃油，但喬治的胳膊仍然卡得緊緊的。有人打電話叫來消防隊(duì)，兩位消防隊(duì)員使用了一種特殊的潤滑劑才使喬治得以解脫。不過，此事并沒使喬治過于傷心，因?yàn)樘枪昀习迥锫犝f了他遇到的麻煩后，賞給他一大盒巧克力。
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