Once upon a time, there was a very wealthy father who hoped to help his son understand how poor people can be, and how fortunate they were to be so well off. So the father took the son on the trip to see the countryside and the people who lived there. They spent a day and a night at a farm of a very poor family. When they returned to the city, the father asked casually, “So, how was the trip,son?”
“It was great, Dad!” replied the son enthusiatically.
“Wonderful. What did you learn?” inquired the father.
The son thought for a moment. “Well, we have one dog at home and they have four. We have a big pool that reaches to the middle of the garden and they have the stars. Our patio (露台) reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon (地平线),” said the boy.
The father was astonished to hear his son’s answer.
“Thank you, Dad, for showing how poor we are!” added the son.
【参考译文】
财 富
从前有一个很有钱的父亲，他希望可以让儿子明白到人可以穷到什么地步，而他们这么有钱又是多么幸福。于是这位父亲带着儿子到农村，让儿子看看农村是什么样的，住在那里的人又是怎样的。他们在一个贫穷农家的农场里住了一天一夜。
当他们回到城里后，那位父亲不经意地问起：“儿子，这趟旅行如何？”
“好极了，爸爸！”儿子兴奋地答道。
“很好，你学到了什么？”父亲问。
儿子想了一会儿，“呃，我们家有一条狗，而他们家有四条；我们的大游泳池延伸到花园中间，而他们拥有满天繁星；我们的露台一直延伸到前院，而他们拥有整个地平线。”男孩说道。
父亲对儿子的回答感到无比惊讶。
“爸爸，谢谢你，你让我知道我们是多么地穷！”儿子补充道。
