English Original
An elderly man lay dying in his bed. In death's agony, he suddenly smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs. He gathered his remaining strength and lifted himself from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with even greater effort forced himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. With labored breath, he leaned against the door frame, gazing into the kitchen.
Were it not for death's agony, he would have thought himself already in heaven: there, spread out upon newspapers on the kitchen table were literally hundreds of his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?
Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture. His parched lips parted; the wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life. His aged and withered hand shockingly made its way to a cookie at the edge of the table, when it was suddenly smacked with a spatula by his wife.
"Stay out of those," she said, "they're for the funeral."
中文翻译
一位老人奄奄一息地躺在床上。在临终的痛苦中，他突然闻到了他最爱的巧克力曲奇的香味从楼下飘来。他凝聚起最后的气力，从床上撑起身子。他倚着墙，慢慢挪出卧室，又用更大的力气，双手紧抓着扶手，强迫自己走下楼梯。他呼吸艰难，靠在门框上，凝视着厨房。
若不是这临终的痛苦，他几乎以为自己已身在天堂：厨房的桌子上，铺满报纸，上面真的摆着成百上千块他最爱的巧克力曲奇。这是天堂吗？还是他那忠贞的妻子最后一次充满英雄气概的爱意表达，确保他快乐地离开这个世界？
他鼓足最后一股巨大的力气，扑向桌子，双膝跪地，姿态狼狈。他干裂的嘴唇张开；曲奇那美妙的味道仿佛已在他口中，似乎要将他带回人间。他那苍老干枯的手，令人震惊地伸向桌边的一块曲奇，却突然被他妻子用锅铲打了一下。
“别碰那些，”她说，“那是为葬礼准备的。”