One night a hotel caught fire， and the people who were staying in it ran out in their night clothes． 一天晚上，一家旅馆失火，住在这家旅馆里的人穿着睡 衣就跑了出来。

Two men stood outside and looked at the fire． 两个人站在外面，看着大火。

“Before I came out，” said one，“I ran into some of the rooms and found a lot of money． People don't think of money when they're afraid． When anyone leaves paper money in a fire， the fire burns it． So I took all the bills that I could find．No one will be poorer because I took them．” “在我出来之前，”其中一个说：“我跑进一些房间，找到了一大笔钱。人在恐惧中是不会想到钱的。如果有人把纸币留在火里，火就会把它烧成灰烬。所以我把我所能找到的钞票都拿走了。没有人会因为我拿走它们而变得更穷。”

“You don't know my work，” said the other． “你不知道我是干什么的。”另一个说。

“What is your work？” “你是干什么的？”

“I'm a policeman． “我是警察。”

“Oh！” cried the first man． He thought quickly and said，“And do you know my work？”“No，”said the policeman． “噢！”第一个人喊了一声。他灵机一动，说：“那你知道我是干什么的？”“不知道。”警察说。

“I'm a writer． I'm always telling stories about things that never happened．” “我是个作家。我总是爱编一些从未发生过的故事。”