A frail¹ old man lived with his son, his daughter-in-law, and his four-year-old grandson. His eyes were blurry², his hands trembled, and his step faltered³.

一位虚弱的老人和他的儿子、儿媳还有四岁的孙子住在一起。他双眼模糊，两手颤抖，步履蹒跚。

The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, drooping⁴ to the floor. When he grasped his glass of milk, it often spilled clumsily at the tablecloth⁵.

这家人每晚会在餐桌前共用晚餐。但是年迈的爷爷双手颤抖，视力退化，连吃饭都困难。豌豆从他的勺子里滚出来，掉在了地上。去拿牛奶的时候，他行动笨拙，也常常会把牛奶洒在桌布上。

With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became irritated⁶ with the mess.

这样的事每晚都在发生。他的儿子儿媳开始对这些繁杂的事情感到恼怒不已。

"We must do something about grandfather," said the son.

“我们应该对爷爷的问题想想办法了。”儿子说。

"I've had enough of his milk spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor," the daughter-in-law agreed.

“我受够了他了。他到处乱洒牛奶，吃东西很大声，还弄到地上。”儿媳也很同意。

So the couple set a small table at the corner.

所以这对夫妇在角落里又放了个小桌子。

There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

从此，在其他人在餐桌上享用晚餐的时候，爷爷就一个人在边上吃。又由于爷爷打碎了一两个碟子，他的食物就被放在了木头碗里端给他。有时，当这家人不经意瞥向爷爷的时候，能看见他眼中的泪水。不变的是，爷爷掉了一支叉或者打翻食物的时候，这对夫妇只会严厉地警告他。四岁的孙子目睹着这一切，一言不发。

One evening, before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps⁷ on the floor. He asked the child sweetly: "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy replied, "Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

有一天晚饭前，父亲注意到了他的儿子在玩木头屑。他亲切地问孩子：“你在做什么呢？”儿子同样亲切地答：“噢，我在做木碗呢。等我长大了，它们就是用来给爸爸妈妈吃饭的。”说完，四岁的儿子带着微笑，继续做他的木碗。

These words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening, the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

儿子的语出惊人让这对父母顿时语塞，泪水从脸颊流下。虽然没有说一句话，他们都下定决心要做什么了。那天晚上，那位丈夫挽起爷爷的手，缓缓地带他回到从前那个餐桌前。

For the remainder⁸ of his days, grandfather ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk was spilled or the table cloth was soiled.

接下来几天，每顿晚饭爷爷都和一家人一起吃。因为某些原因，这对夫妻再也不在乎掉下的叉子、洒出的牛奶或是弄脏的桌布了。