老人和他的土豆园

鸭绒125（译）

2023年10月31日

一位老人独自住在爱达荷州。

他想给他的土豆园翻地。但，这是一项苦力活。以前，都是布巴，他唯一的儿子帮他干。现在，他的儿子却在监狱里。

老人给儿子写了一封信，提到了他的困境。

“亲爱的布巴：我感觉很糟糕。因为今年，我似乎无法再在我的土豆园里种土豆了。我年纪越来越老，已经不能再翻挖土地了。要是你在这里，这都不算是个事。我知道你会为我翻地的。爱你的，爸爸。”

几天后，他收到了儿子的回信。

“亲爱的爸爸：看在上帝的份上，爸爸。千万别在花园里翻地！那里有我埋的尸体！爱你的，布巴。”

第二天凌晨4点，10多名联邦调查局探员和当地警察出现在老人家里。他们将整个花园翻了个遍，却没有发现任何尸体。他们只好向老人道歉。然后，就离开了。

同一天，老人又收到了儿子的信。

“亲爱的爸爸：现在，你可以去种土豆了。在目前的情况下，这是我能为你做的最尽力的事了。爱你的，布巴。”

原文： The Old Man and His Garden

An old man lived alone in Idaho。

He wanted to spade his potato garden，but it was very hard work。His only son，Bubba，who used to help him，was in prison。

The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his predicament。

“Dear Bubba，I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year。I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot。If you were here，all my troubles would be over。I know you would dig the plot for me。Love，Dad”

A few days later he received a letter from his son。

“Dear Dad，For Heaven's sake，Dad，don't dig up the garden！That's where I buried the bodies！Love，Bubba”

At 4 am the next morning，a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies。They apologized to the old man and left。

That same day the old man received another letter from his son。

“Dear Dad，Go ahead and plant the potatoes now。It's the best I could do under the circumstances。Love，Bubba”