I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse,and after h e had just finished a rough first day on the job,a flat tire made him l ose an hour of work,his electric saw quit and now his ancient pickup tr uck refused to start.While I drove him home,he sat in stony silence.O n arriving,he invited me in to meet his family.
As we walked toward the front door,he paused briefly at a small tre e,touching tips of the branches with his hands.
When opening the door,he underwent an amusing transformation.His t anned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children a nd gave his wife a kiss.
After leaving the happy family,I passed the tree and my curiosity g ot the better of me.I asked him,who walked me to the car,"Before we went in,why did you stop by the tree earlier?"
"Oh,that's my trouble tree," he replied.
"I know I can't help having troubles on the job and in my life,bu t those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and children.I know I can control one thing for sure.I can hang them up on the tree ev ery night when I come home.Then in the morning I pick them up again bef ore I leave for work."
"Funny thing is," he smiled,"when I come out in the morning to p ick them up,there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the n ight before."
我雇了一位木匠帮我修缮旧农舍。第一天的工作很糟糕，刚开始是他的汽车轮胎瘪了，耽误了整整1个小时；后来电锯又坏了；现在忙了一天后他的旧卡车竟不能启动。我只好开车送他回家。一路上，他像石头一样沉默不语。到达目的地之后，他邀我进去见见他的家人。
当我们走到门口，他先在一棵小树前停了一会儿，用手碰了碰几根树枝。
门开了，他一进去就像变成了另外一个人似的，棕色的脸庞溢满了微笑，他高兴地拥抱两个孩子，然后深情地吻了吻妻子。