Children always appreciate small gifts of money. Father, of course, provides a regular supply of socket-money, but uncles and aunts are always a source of extra income. With some children, small sums go a long way. If sixpences are not exchanged for sweets, they rattle for months inside moneyboxes. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a moneybox. For most of them, sixpence is a small price to pay for a satisfying bar of chocolate.

    My nephew, George, has a moneybox but it is always empty. Very few of the sixpences I have given him have found their way there. I gave him sixpence yesterday and advised him to save it. Instead, he bought himself sixpence worth of trouble. On his way to the sweet shop, he dropped his sixpence and it rolled along the pavement and then disappeared down a drain. George took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pushed his right arm through the drain cover. He could not find his sixpence anywhere, and what is more, he could not get his arm out. A crowd of people gathered round him and a lady rubbed his arm with soap and butter, but George was firmly stuck. The fire-brigade was called and two firemen freed George using a special type of GREase. George was not too upset by his experience because the lady who owns the sweet shop heard about his troubles and rewarded him with a large box of chocolates. 

    孩子們總是喜歡得到一些零花錢。爸爸媽媽當(dāng)然經(jīng)常會給孩子零花錢，但是，叔舅嬸姨也是孩子們額外收入的來源。對于有些孩子來說，少量的錢可以花很長一段時間。如果50便士不拿來換糖吃，則可以放在儲蓄罐里叮當(dāng)響上好幾個月。但是能把儲蓄罐裝滿的只有屈指可數(shù)的幾個特別節(jié)儉的孩子。對大部分孩子來說，用50便士來買一大塊好的巧克力，是算不了什么的。

    我的外甥喬治有一個儲蓄罐，但總是空空的。我給了他不少50便士的硬幣，但沒有幾個存到儲蓄罐里。昨天，我給了他50便士讓他存起來，他卻拿這錢給自己買了50便士的麻煩。在他去糖果店的路上，50便士掉在地上，在人行道上跳了幾下，掉進(jìn)了陰溝里。喬治脫掉外套，卷起袖子，將右胳膊伸進(jìn)了陰溝蓋。但他摸了半天也沒找到那50便士硬幣，他的胳膊反倒退不出來了。這時在他周圍圍上了許多人，一位女士在喬治胳膊上抹了肥皂、黃油，但喬治的胳膊仍然卡得緊緊的。有人打電話叫來消防隊，兩位消防隊員使用了一種特殊的潤滑劑才使喬治得以解脫。不過，此事并沒使喬治過于傷心，因為糖果店老板娘聽說了他遇到的麻煩后，賞給了他一大盒巧克力。