It was just before World WarⅡ.We were the only family in our New York town that didn’t own a car. I was a teenager, and having no car was humiliating because all my friends’ parents did.
We were poor. My father’s salary as a clerk would have been enough to live well but half of his pay went towards medical expenses of ill relatives. Our house was mortgaged1 and sometimes the supermarket owner would allow us to pay several months later.
Mother comforted the family by saying, “If you have character2, you have the better part of wealth. Living on little develops inner resources and builds a spiritual bank account.”
My bitter retort3 was, “You can’t buy a car with it.” Yet she was able to make life bearable in all other respects. Our home had charm. Mother knew the secret of using a few yards of bright chintz4 and a little paint in the right places.
Suddenly a moment arrived changing my life forever.
For weeks a new Buick Road Master had stood in the window of the biggest store on Main Street. Now, on the final gala5 night of the county fair, it was to be raffled6 off. I stayed in the shadows at the edge of the crowd waiting for the winning ticket to be drawn. The crowd held its breath as the mayor reached into the glass bowl for the lucky ticket.
It had never even entered my mind that we would win. But the loudspeaker called my father's name! By the time I had wormed my way up to7 the platform, the mayor had presented Dad with the keys, and he had driven off amid cheers.
I ran home in record time, seeing myself at the wheel of the Buick driving my girl to the senior prom8. The house was dark, save for lights in the living room. The Buick stood in the driveway.
Panting9 from my run, I touched the car’s smooth surface, opened the door and got inside. The luxurious interior had that wonderful new-car smell. I studied the gleaming dash-board10. Turning my head to revel11 in the cushioned vista12 of the back seat, I saw my father's sturdy13 figure through the rear window. He was pacing the sidewalk. I closed the door and rushed over to him.
“Leave me alone!” he shouted.
If he had clubbed14 me over the head, I could not have been more hurt. Shocked, I went into the house.
Mother met me in the living room. “Don’t be upset,” she said. “Your father is struggling with an ethical15 problem. We’ll have to wait until he finds the right answer.”
“What’s unethical about winning a Buick?”
“The car may not be ours after all. There’s a question.”
I shouted hysterically, “How can there be a question? It was announced downtown over the loudspeaker!”
“Come here, son.”
On the table under the lamp were two raffle stubs, number 348 and 349. The winning number was 348. “Do you see the difference between the two?” Mother asked.
I looked carefully. “The only difference I can see is that 348 won.”
“Hold 348 to the light and look hard.”
It required a lot of looking to see the faint letter K dimly marked in pencil on one corner.
“Do you see the K?”
“Just barely.”
“It stands for Kendrick.”
“Jim Kendrick, the boss of my dad?”
“Yes.”
She explained. My father had asked Jim if he wanted to buy a ticket. Jim had mumbled “Why not?” and turned back to what he was doing. It may never have crossed his mind again. Dad then bought two tickets in his own name with his own money, marking 348 for Kendrick.
I could not understand what the problem was. Jim Kendrick was a multimillionaire. He owned a dozen cars. He lived on an estate with a staff of servants, including two chauffeurs16. Another car meant little to him. Passionately I argued, “Dad’s got to keep it!”
“I know he’ll do what’s right,” Mother said calmly.
At last we heard Dad’s step on the front porch17. I held my breath. He went straight to the phone in the dining room and dialed. Kendrick’s phone rang for a long time. A servant finally answered. From what Dad said at our end I could tell that Kendrick had to be awakened.
He was annoyed at being roused from sleep. My father had to explain the whole thing from the beginning. The next afternoon Kendrick’s two chauffeurs arrived in a station wagon. Before driving the Buick away, they presented Dad with a box of cigars.
We didn’t get a car until after I was grown. But, as time went on, my mother’s aphorism18, “If you have character, you have the better part of wealth” took on a new meaning. Looking back over the years, I know now we were never richer than we were at the moment when Dad made that telephone call.
二战前夕，在纽约城里，我们是惟一没有车的家庭。那时的我还是个十几岁的少年，对我来说，没有车很丢人，因为我所有朋友家里都有车。
我们家很穷。我爸领一份小职员的工资，其中的一半若不用来支付穷亲戚的药费，本来还能维持不错的生活。我们家把房子抵押了，有时超市老板同意我们缓几个月付帐。
妈妈安慰家人说：“如果你有骨气，你就拥有了财富中的财富。生活无以为继才会磨砺我们的意志，并得以建立起精神财富。”
我愤愤不平地回了句嘴：“你又不能用那来买车！” 然而，在其他方面，妈妈把日子打理得还能过下去。妈妈知道在恰当的位置涂上点颜料或用上几码鲜艳的印花布。因此，我们家很温馨。
突然，永远改变命运的时刻来临了。
有好几周， 缅因大街上最大的一家商店橱窗里摆放着一辆簇新的“别克路霸”。现在，在商品展览会的最后一个晚上，它将被抽走。我站在人群边的暗处等待着幸运号码的揭晓！当市长的手伸进玻璃碗去抽取幸运彩票时，大伙都屏住了呼吸。
我压根儿没想过我们家会赢得那部车！可是，扩音器喊出了爸爸的名字！我艰难地向前台挪动脚步时，市长已将钥匙递给了爸爸，接着，父亲在欢呼声中把车子开走了。
我以最快的速度向家跑去，想象着自己驾驶着别克带着女友去参加高年级的正式舞会。房子里一片漆黑，只有客厅里亮着灯。别克停在车道上。
我跑得气喘吁吁，摸着轿车那光滑的表面，打开车门进去，豪华的车箱里有一股沁人心脾的新车味。我审视着闪光的仪表盘。转过头靠在狭长的后座靠垫上，陶醉其中，从后视镜中我看到爸爸那强健的身影，他从人行道快速地走来，我关上车门向他跑去。
“别跟着我！”他吼道。
这句话仿佛当头一棒，让我伤心而又震惊。 我冲进了屋子里。
妈妈在客厅里迎着我。“别难过，”她说，“你爸爸正在为一个有关道德的问题作思想斗争呢，我们要等他找到问题的正确答案。”
“赢了一辆别克有什么不道德？”
“但那车毕竟不是我们的，问题就在这儿。”
我歇斯底里地叫道：“这怎么会有问题呢？这件事是在市里通过广播宣布的啊！”
“过来，儿子。”
两张彩票的存根放在桌上的台灯下，号码分别是348和349，获奖号码是348。“你能看出这两张存根的不同吗？”妈妈问道。
我仔细看了看。“我能看出的惟一差别就是：号码为348的一张中了奖！”
“把号码为348的那一张拿到灯下仔细看。”
要很仔细地看，才能看出在存根的一个角用铅笔标注着一个模糊的字母K.
“你看到K了吗？”
“很勉强。”
“它代表Kendrick.”
“是吉姆·肯德里克吗，爸爸的老板？”
“是的。”
她道出个中原委。我爸曾问过吉姆是否想买张彩票，吉姆嘀咕道：“为什么不呢？”接着就转身去做自己的事了。因此，他是不会再想起这件事的。然后爸爸就以自己的名义和自个儿的钱买了两张彩票，并注明号码为348的那一张是给肯德里克的。对我来说，这是一件十分容易解决的事。肯德里克是千万富翁，以地产为生，他有十几辆车和一帮佣人，其中包括两个司机，再多一辆车对他意义不大。我激动地说：“爸爸应该留下它！”
“我相信他的选择会是正确的。”妈妈冷静地说。
最后我们听到爸爸在前门走廊上的脚步声， 我屏住呼吸。他径直走向饭厅的电话，然后拨通了。肯德里克的电话响了好久，终于，一个佣人接了电话，从爸爸在电话这头说的话，我可以判断肯德里克是被人叫醒的。
从睡梦中被叫醒，他显得很不高兴。爸爸不得不从头解释整件事儿。第二天下午肯德里克的两个司机坐着客货两用轿车来了，在送给爸爸一盒雪茄后，将别克开走了。
直到我长大了，我们才有一辆车。但随着时间的流逝，妈妈的那句箴言：“如果你有骨气，你就有了财富中的财富”又有了新的含义。再回首过去的那些日子，现在我认识到我们永远也不会比爸爸打电话的那一刻更富有。
1. mortgage v. 抵押
2. character n. 骨气
3. retort n. 反驳
4. chintz n. 印花布
5. gala n. 节日
6. raffle v. 抽彩出售
7. worm one’s way up to 小心缓慢地行走
8. prom n. 正式舞会
9. pant v. 气喘，气促
10. dash-board 仪表板
11. revel v. 陶醉
12. vista n. 狭长通道
13. sturdy adj. 强壮的，结实的
14. club v. 用棍棒打
15. ethical adj. 道德的
16. chauffeur n. 汽车司机
17. porch n. 走廊
18. aphorism n. 格言，警句