" Yes," was my reply." How would you like to run over to the gas station there and get yourself a bottle of Coke?"
I couldn`t believe my ears. Had I heard right? Was he talking to me? On my family`s modest income, Coke was not a part of our budget or diet. A few tantalizing sips was all I had ever had, and certainly never my own bottle.
" Okay," I replied shyly, already wondering how I would get across the street. Surely Grampy was going to come with me.
"渴吗？"祖父烟斗不离口地问我。
"是的。"我回答说。"跑到街对面的加油站去给你自己买瓶可乐怎么样？"
我简直不敢相信自己的耳朵，我没有听错吧?他是在跟我说话吗？就我们家微薄的收入来说，可乐不是我们家庭开销的一部分。我只是迫不及待地啜过几小口，从来没有自己喝过一瓶。
"好的。"我害羞地回答说，已经在想着该怎样穿过马路，祖父当然会跟我一块。
Grampy stretched his long leg out straight and reached his huge hand deep into the pocket. I could hear the familiar jangling of the loose change he always carried. Opening his fist, he exposed a mound of silver coins. There must have been a million dollars there. He instructed me to pick out a dime. After he deposited the rest of the change back into his pocket, he stood up.
" Okay," he said, helping me down the stairs and to the curb, " I`m going to stay here and keep an ear out for the babies. I`ll tell you when it`s safe to cross. You go over to the Coke machine, get your Coke and come back out. Wait for me to tell you when it`s safe to cross back."
祖父将他的长腿伸直，把他的大手伸进口袋。我能听到零钱相碰而发出的熟悉的丁当声，他总是把这些零钱带在身上。他张开手，露出了一堆宝贝似的银币。那里面一定有100万美元！他让我拿出一个1角的硬币。把零钱放回口袋后，他站了起来。
"好吧，"他说，帮着我下楼梯到马路沿儿那儿去，"我站在这儿，听着屋里的两个孩子有没有动静，什么时候穿过马路安全，我会告诉你的。你到对面的可乐机那儿买到你的可乐后再走回来。等着我告诉你什么时候过马路安全。"