我的妈妈在“蓝车餐馆”工作。我常在放学后去找她。餐馆老板乔阿姨让我在那里打工。我会清洗装盐和胡椒的小瓶子，也帮忙装西红柿酱。有一次，我还削完了所有用来煮汤的洋葱。乔阿姨总是说：“做得好，小丫头。”然后付我工钱。我会把一半的钱放进大瓶子里。

It takes a longtime to fill a jar this big. Every day when my mother comes home from work, I takedown the jar. My mama empties all her change from tips out of her purse for meto count. Then we push all of the coins into the jar.

要好久好久才能装满这么大的瓶子。妈妈每天下班回来，从皮包里拿出她赚的小费。我数过所有的硬币，再把它们通通放进大瓶子里。

Sometimes my mama is laughing when she comes home from work. Sometimes she's so tired shefalls asleep while I count the money out into piles. Some days she has lots of tips. Some days she has only a little. Then she looks worried. But each evening every single shiny coin goes into the jar.

有时候，妈妈回来有说有笑；有时候，我还没数完钱，她已经累得睡着了。小费有时多，有时少，如果少，妈妈会担心。但无论如何，每个硬币都放进大瓶子里。

We sit in thekitchen to count the tips. Usually Grandma sits with us too. While we count,she likes to hum. Often she has money in her old leather wallet for us. Whenever she gets a good bargain ontomatoes or bananas or something she buys, she puts by the savings and they gointo the jar.

我们在厨房里数钱，外婆就坐在一旁哼歌。她常从皮夹里拿出零钱，那些是她买西红柿、香蕉或其他东西讨价还价省下来的。这些钱也放进了大瓶子里。

When we can't get a single other coin into the jar, we are going to take out all the moneyand go and buy a chair.Yes, a chair. Awonderful, beautiful, fat, soft armchair. We will get one covered in velvet with roses all over it. We are going to get the best chair in the wholeworld.

等大瓶子装满了钱，我们要买一张沙发。是的，买一张漂亮、柔软、又大又舒服的沙发，还要套着布满玫瑰花图案的绒布套。我们希望有一张全世界最棒的沙发。

That is becauseour old chairs burned up. There was a big fire in our other house. All our chairs burned. So did our sofa and so did everything else. That wasn't such along time ago.

因为，我们的旧沙发被烧掉了。一场大火把我们的椅子、沙发、所有的东西全烧光了。回想起来，事情像是刚发生过一样。

My mother and I were coming home from buying new shoes. I had new sandals. She had new pumps. Wewere walking to our house from the bus. We were looking at everyone's tulips. She was saying she liked red tulips and I was saying I liked yellow ones. Then we came to our block.

那天，妈妈带我去买新鞋。我买了凉鞋，妈妈买了高跟鞋。我们下了公交车往家的方向走，一路欣赏路旁的郁金香。妈妈说她喜欢红色的花，我说我喜欢黄色的花。我们慢慢地散步回家。

Right outside our house stood two big fire engines. I could see lots of smoke. Tall orange flames came out of the roof. All the neighbors stood in a bunch across thestreet. Mama grabbed my hand and we ran. My uncle Sandy saw us and ran tous. Mama yelled, "Where's Mother?" I yelled, "Where's my grandma?" My aunt Ida waved and shouted , "She's here, she's here. She's O.K. Don't worry."

家门口停了两辆消防车，浓浓的烟和又高又红的火焰从屋顶冒出来。好多邻居围在旁边看。妈妈拉起我的手往前跑。大姨夫看到我们，跑过来，妈妈和我同时大叫：“妈妈呢？”“外婆呢？”大姨妈向我们挥手，高声喊道：“在这儿，她在这儿，她很安全，别担心。”

Grandma was all right. Our cat was safe too, though it took a while to find her. But everything else in our whole house was spoiled.

外婆没事。我们找了好久才找到我们的猫，它也没事。可是，房子里的东西全都烧光了。

What was left of the house was turned to charcoal and ashes.

房子一片焦黑。

We went to staywith my mother's sister Aunt Ida and Uncle Sandy. Then we were able to move intothe apartment downstairs. We painted the walls yellow. The floors were allshiny. But the rooms were very empty.

我们先借住在大姨妈家里，然后搬进楼下的公寓。我们把墙壁漆成黄色，把地板擦得亮晶晶的。可是，房子里空空荡荡的。

The first day wemoved in, the neighbors brought pizza and cake and ice cream. And they brought a lot of other things too.

搬新家的那天，邻居们带来比萨、冰淇淋和好多东西。

The family across the street brought a table and three kitchen chairs. The very old man next door gave us a bed from when his children were little.

My other grandpabrought us his beautiful rug. My mother's other sister, Sally, had made us redand white curtains. Mama's boss, Josephine, brought pots and pans, silverwareand dishes. My cousin brought me her own stuffed bear.

对面的邻居搬来一张桌子和三张椅子。隔壁的老先生给我们一张床，是他孩子小时候睡的。

爷爷拿来一块美丽的地毯，小姨为我们做了一组红白条纹的窗帘，乔阿姨带来锅碗瓢盆和刀叉，表妹把她的玩具熊送给我。

Everyone clapped when my grandma made a speech. "You are all the kindest people," she said, "and we thank you very, very much. It's lucky we're young and can start all over."

外婆对大家说：“你们是世界上最好心的人，真的很感激你们。幸好我们还年轻，可以从头开始。”大家热烈鼓掌。

That was last year, but we still have no sofa and no big chairs. When Mama comes home, herfeet hurt. “There's no good place for me to take a load off my feet,” she says.When Grandma wants to sit back and hum and cut up potatoes, she has to get as comfortable as she can on a hard kitchen chair.

过了一年，我们还是没有沙发，也没有大椅子。妈妈下班回来，脚很酸。她说：“真希望有舒服一点儿的沙发让我休息。”外婆坐着边哼歌边削马铃薯，也只能坐在硬邦邦的椅子上。

So that is howcome Mama brought home the biggest jar she could find at the diner and all the coins started to go into the jar.

Now the jar is too heavy for me to lift down. Uncle Sandy gave me a quarter. He had to boostme up so I could put it in.

所以，妈妈带回来这个大瓶子，存零钱。大瓶子现在变得好重，我拿不动了。姨父给我一个十元硬币，我要他把我手举高，才能把钱塞进瓶子里。

After supper Mama and Grandma and I stood in front of the jar. "Well, I never wouldhave believed it, but I guess it's full," Mama said.

My mother brought home little paper wrappers for the nickels and the dimes and the quarters. I counted them all out and wrapped them all up.

晚餐后，我和妈妈和外婆站在大瓶子前面。妈妈说：“哇！真不敢相信，瓶子已经满了。”我数了数钱，用妈妈给我的纸把钱包起来。

After supper Mama and Grandma and I stood in front of the jar. "Well, I never wouldhave believed it, but I guess it's full," Mama said.

My mother brought home little paper wrappers for the nickels and the dimes and the quarters. I counted them all out and wrapped them all up.

晚餐后，我和妈妈和外婆站在大瓶子前面。妈妈说：“哇！真不敢相信，瓶子已经满了。”我数了数钱，用妈妈给我的纸把钱包起来。

On my mother's day off, we took all the coins to the bank. The bank exchanged them for ten-dollar bills. Then we took the bus downtown to shop for our chair.

妈妈休假那天，我们去银行将硬币换成纸钞，然后再搭公交车去买沙发。

We shopped through four furniture stores. We tried out big chairs and smaller ones, highchairs and low chairs, soft chairs and harder ones. Grandma said she felt like Goldilocks in "The Three Bears" trying out all the chairs.

我们逛了四家家具店，试坐了许多沙发，有大的、小的、高的、矮的、软的、硬的。外婆说她好像是童话故事“三只熊”里的小女孩。

Finally we found the chair we were all dreaming of. And the money in the jar was enough to payfor it. We called Aunt Ida and Uncle Sandy. They came right down in their pickup truck to drive the chair home for us. They knew we couldn't wait for it to be delivered.

坐了这么多种沙发。最后，我们终于找到了梦想中的沙发，而且有足够的钱可以买它。我们打电话给大姨妈和大姨夫，他们立刻开卡车来接我们和沙发回家。他们知道，我们等不及店家送货了。

I tried out our chair in the back of the truck. Mama wouldn't let me sit there while we drove. But they let me sit in it while they carried it up to the door.

我到卡车上坐我们的沙发。车子发动时，妈妈叫我下来。一到家，我又坐在沙发上，他们把沙发和我一起抬进门。

We set the chairright beside the window with the red and white curtains. Grandma and Mama and Iall sat in it while Aunt Ida took our picture.

沙发放在窗边，靠近红白条纹的窗帘。外婆、妈妈和我一起坐在沙发上，大姨妈帮我们照相。

Now Grandma sits in it and talks with people going by in the daytime. Mama sits down and watches the news on TV when she comes home from her job. After supper, I sit with herand she can reach right up and turn out the light if I fall asleep in her lap.

现在，白天时，外婆喜欢坐在沙发上，跟窗外路过的人聊天。妈妈下班回来，坐在沙发上看电视新闻。晚餐后，我挤在妈妈身边。如果我在她的怀里睡着了，她一伸手正好可以关灯。

扫描“外教中国”二微码

了解更多新鲜资讯

超过800位优秀外籍教师，超过万名学员的共同选择

中国人的VIP外教专家，培养终生英语能力返回搜狐，查看更多