老人的木碗

A frail old man lived with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his four-year-old grandson. His eyes were blurry, his hands trembled, and his step faltered.

一位虛弱的老人和他的兒子、兒媳還有四歲的孫子住在一起。他雙眼模糊，兩手顫抖，步履蹣跚。

The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, drooping to the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often spilled clumsily at the tablecloth.

這家人每晚會在餐桌前共用晚餐。但是年邁的爺爺雙手顫抖，視力退化，連吃飯都困難。豌豆從他的勺子里滾出來，掉在了地上。去拿牛奶的時候，他行動笨拙，也常常會把牛奶灑在桌布上。

With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.

這樣的事每晚都在發生。他的兒子兒媳開始對這些繁雜的事情感到惱怒不已。

"We must do something about grandfather," said the son.

“我們應該對爺爺的問題想想辦法了。”兒子說。

"I've had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating, and food on the floor," the daughter-in-law agreed.

“我受夠了他了。他到處亂灑牛奶，吃東西很大聲，還弄到地上。”兒媳也很同意。

So the couple set a small table at the corner.

所以這對夫婦在角落里又放了個小桌子。

There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old grandson watched it all in silence.

從此，在其他人在餐桌上享用晚餐的時候，爺爺就一個人在邊上吃。又由于爺爺打碎了一兩個碟子，他的食物就被放在了木頭碗里端給他。有時，當這家人不經意瞥向爺爺的時候，能看見他眼中的淚水。不變的是，爺爺掉了一支叉或者打翻食物的時候，這對夫婦只會嚴厲地警告他。四歲的孫子目睹著這一切，一言不發。

One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly: "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy replied, "Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old son smiled and went back to work.

有一天晚飯前，父親注意到了他的兒子在玩木頭屑。他親切地問孩子：“你在做什么呢？”兒子同樣親切地答：“噢，我在做木碗呢。等我長大了，它們就是用來給爸爸媽媽吃飯的。”說完，四歲的兒子帶著微笑，繼續做他的木碗。

These words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening, the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

兒子的語出驚人讓這對父母頓時語塞，淚水從臉頰流下。雖然沒有說一句話，他們都下定決心要做什么了。那天晚上，那位丈夫挽起爺爺的手，緩緩地帶他回到從前那個餐桌前。

For the remainder of his days, grandfather ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk was spilled or the table cloth was soiled.

接下來幾天，每頓晚飯爺爺都和一家人一起吃。因為某些原因，這對夫妻再也不在乎掉下的叉子、灑出的牛奶或是弄臟的桌布了。

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