"Please, mother, do sit down and let me try my hand," said Fred Liscom, a bright, active boy twelve years old.
“妈妈，求您了，坐下吧，让我来试试。”弗雷德.利斯科姆说。他是一个阳光、活泼的12岁少年。
Mrs. Liscom, looking pale and worn, was moving languidly about, trying to clear away the breakfast she had scarcely tasted.
利斯科姆夫人看起来苍白而疲惫，她没精打采地挪动着，打算收拾起她基本上没怎么吃的早餐。
She smiled, and said, "You, Fred, you wash dishes?" "Yes, indeed, mother," replied Fred;
她微笑着说：“弗雷德，你，你来洗盘子吗？”“是的，妈妈，”弗雷德回答道，
I should be a poor scholar if I couldn't, when I've seen you do it so many times. Just try me.
如果我看您刷盘子看了那么多次还没学会，那我肯定是个差劲的学生。就让我试试吧。
A look of relief came over his mother's face as she seated herself in her low rocking-chair.
当母亲坐到她的矮摇椅上时，脸上露出了如释重负的表情。
Fred washed the dishes, and put them in the closet.
弗雷德洗好盘子，将它们放到橱柜里。
He then swept the kitchen, brought up the potatoes from the cellar for the dinner and washed them, and then set out for school.
接着他又打扫了厨房，从地窖里拿上来一些土豆，把它们洗净，准备做晚餐用，然后就去上学了。
Fred's father was away from home, and as there was some cold meat in the pantry, Mrs. Liscom found it an easy task to prepare dinner.
弗雷德的父亲不在家，家里的储藏室里还有些冻肉，利斯科姆夫人感觉准备晚餐还比较轻松。
Fred hurried home from school, set the table,and again washed the dishes.
弗雷德从学校匆匆忙忙回到家，摆好餐具，饭后又刷了碗。
He kept on in this way for two or three days, till his mother was able to resume her usual work,
他如此执行了两到三天，直到他母亲能够继续她的日常工作。
and he felt amply rewarded when the doctor, who happened in one day, said, "Well, madam, it's my opinion that you would have been very sick if you had not kept quiet."
听了这些话，他感到自己得到了极大的褒奖。医生某天说道：“唉呀，女士，我认为如果前段时间您没有静养，很有可能会病得很重。”
The doctor did not know how the "quiet" had been secured, nor how the boy's heart bounded at his words.
医生当然不知道“静养”是如何得到保证的，也不知道听到他的话男孩的心是如何狂跳不止。
Fred had given up a great deal of what boys hold dear, for the purpose of helping his mother, coasting and skating being just at this time in perfection.
弗雷德已经放弃了很多男孩的珍视,为了帮助母亲,规划的目的和滑冰都是完美的。
Besides this, his temper and his patience had been severely tried.
此外，他的脾气和耐心也经历了严峻的考验。
