Lesson 18　The Widow and the Merchant　第18课　寡妇和商人的故事

died woman convinced amazed wrote

pity mistake rewarded grateful check

distress hesitation

husband musician

widow assistance

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.

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.

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

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

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."

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

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

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

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

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

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

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

有一个商人，他很喜欢音乐。一个可怜的寡妇向商人请求一些帮助。这个寡妇的丈夫生前是一位音乐家，去世后给她留下极少的财产。

商人看到这位女士和她女儿生活得极其艰难。他看着她们苍白的脸，流露出同情之色，并且相信了她们的故事。

“女士，你需要多少钱？”商人问道。

“5美元就可以帮到我们。”可怜的寡妇有些犹豫地说。

商人在桌边坐下，掏出一张纸，在上面写了些什么后递给这个寡妇，并说：“拿着这个去街对面的银行。”

这个寡妇和她的女儿满怀感激之情告别商人，甚至没有看字条的内容就急忙去了银行。银行职员看到后立即取出50美元而不是5美元递给这个寡妇。

当这个寡妇看到这么一大笔钱时非常吃惊：“先生，这一定有什么地方弄错了，我只需要5美元，而您给了我50美元。”

银行职员再次看了看字条说道：“这是张50元的支票。”

“一定弄错了，”寡妇坚持道。

银行职员让她等几分钟，然后去见了给她支票的商人。

“是的，”当商人听到银行职员的话后说道，“确实是我弄错了，我写了50而不是500。给那个可怜的人500美元吧，即使这些加起来也不及她诚实的美德。”