English Original
Mark Twain once went to borrow a book from a neighbour in Tarrytown.
"May I borrow a book from you?" he asked politely.
"Yes, you're more than welcome to it," the neighbour replied. "But I must ask you to read it here. You know I make a rule never to let any book leave my library."
Some days later, the neighbour wished to borrow Twain's lawn mower.
"Why, certainly," Twain told him. "You're more than welcome to it. But I must ask you to use it here. You know I make it a rule never to let it leave my garden."
中文翻译
在特里镇，马克·吐温有一次去一位邻居那儿借书。
“我可以向您借本书吗？”他礼貌地问道。
“当然，非常乐意，”邻居告诉他，“但我要求你在这儿读。你知道我有一条规定，那就是决不让任何一本书离开我的图书室。”
几天后，这位邻居想从吐温那儿借割草机。
“噢，当然，”吐温告诉他，“非常乐意借给你。但我要求你在这儿用。你知道我有一条规定，那就是决不允许它离开我的花园。”