A penny-pinching farmer didn’t want his hired hand to stop working. One morning, he told the farmhand, “It’s such a nuisance to come in from the field, wash up for lunch and take time to eat. Why don’t we save time and eat lunch now?”

　　一位農(nóng)場(chǎng)主非常吝嗇，不想讓他雇傭的幫手停下來(lái)休息。一天早上，他對(duì)幫手說(shuō)：“從地里回來(lái)，又要洗手吃飯，又花時(shí)間，真是太不方便了。我們何不省點(diǎn)時(shí)間，現(xiàn)在就吃午飯呢?”

　　The hired man agreed. The farm’s wife brought in some cold meat and fried potatoes, and the two men ate again.

　　雇員同意了。農(nóng)場(chǎng)主的妻子端進(jìn)來(lái)一些冷肉和油炸土豆。于是，兩個(gè)人又開(kāi)始吃起來(lái)。

　　When they had finished, the cheap farmer said, “While we’re still at the table, let’s have supper too.”They were now served steak, boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables, and they ate once more.

　　吃完后，吝嗇鬼說(shuō)：“既然我們還在桌子邊，讓我們連晚飯也吃了吧。”這次上桌的有排骨、煮土豆和雜燴青菜。于是兩個(gè)人又吃起來(lái)。

　　“Now that the meals are out of the way, ” the farmer announced, “we can go out and work all day without interruption. ”

　　“現(xiàn)在三頓飯都吃過(guò)了，”農(nóng)場(chǎng)主宣稱(chēng)道，“我們便可以出去一整天不停地干活了。”

　　“Oh, no,” the farmhand answered. “I never work after supper.”

　　“哦，不，”那幫手回答說(shuō)，“晚飯后我從不工作。”