A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, afterschool enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.
The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I'll give you each a dollar if you'll promise to come around every day and do your thing.” The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trash cans.
After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession's really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I'll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat the cans.” The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they accepted his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus .
A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look,” he said, “I haven't received my Social Security check yet, so I am not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?” “A lousy quarter?” The drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we're going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you are nuts! No way, mister. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.
一位很睿智的绅士上了年纪，退休之后，在一所初中附近买了一套不大不小的房子。起初的几个礼拜，退休的日子过得很安静惬意。后来，新学年开始了。第二天下午就有三个朝气蓬勃、放了学就疯玩儿的小男孩在他住的这条街上见垃圾桶就高兴地上去敲。震耳的敲击声一天天持续个没完，终于，老先生决定采取行动了。
第二天下午，就在小男孩们沿街敲过来的时候，老先生走出门会了会这帮年轻的打击乐手。他叫住他们，说：“你们这帮孩子玩儿得挺欢啊。你们精力那么充沛，我看着挺高兴的。其实，我在你们这么大的时候，也干过这事儿。能帮我一个忙吗？你们要是答应每天都来这儿表演的话，我一人给你们一美元。”孩子们一听乐了，对着垃圾桶煞有介事地敲打起来。
过了几天，老家伙又来跟孩子们打招呼，但这次是一脸苦笑。“这经济不景气真是让我的收入大打折扣，”他说，“从现在起，你们敲垃圾桶我只给得起50美分了。”噪声制造者们明显不乐意了，但还是接受了老先生的条件，每到下午噪声如约响起。
过了几天，足智多谋的老先生看孩子们沿路敲了过来，就又朝他们走过去。“你们瞧，”他说，“我到现在还没收到社保支票，只能给你们25美分了，25美分行吗？”“25美分，这么寒酸？”领头的鼓手喊了起来。“你要是觉得我们会浪费自己的时间，敲来敲去只为赚你这25美分的话，你就疯了！你想得美，先生！我们不干了！”于是，老先生接下来的日子过得很平静、很消停。
-percussion [pəˈkʌʃn] n. 敲打
-exuberance [ɪɡˈzjuːbərəns] n. 充沛
-old-timer [ˌəuldˈtaɪmə] n. 老资格的人；老人
-ruckus [ˈrʌkəs] n. 喧闹
-serenity [səˈrenətɪ] n. 安详
在智慧与耐心的心理战中，“老姜”总能让“生姜”束手就擒。