English Original
Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there was a bank whose prominent digital clock became the talk of the town. With large neon-red numbers visible from a block away, it stood above the main doors at a major intersection, symbolizing the town's center.
Months ago, the clock began to malfunction. First, it slipped a few minutes backward. Then, its condition worsened—it would jump forward hours, then fall back, becoming clearly "sick."
This caused chaos. A child, seeing it run two hours fast, cried thinking he was late for a birthday party. A groom, misled into thinking he was early, stopped at a cybercafe and arrived two hours late to his own wedding.
The final straw was an army major. Trusting the clock, he reset his watch three hours ahead and woke his troops for a run at 3 AM instead of 6 AM. The displeased soldiers visited the bank manager, offering to chip in for repairs.
The kind manager promised to fix it, consulting "clocktors" and ordering a special part. She turned the clock off until a UPS delivery brought a tiny replacement part. When the clock finally glowed correctly again, the whole town sighed with relief and reset their watches.
中文翻译
从前，在离你不远的地方，有一家银行，其醒目的数字时钟成了全镇的热门话题。它有着巨大的霓虹红数字，从一个街区外都能看清，矗立在主要十字路口银行大门的上方，象征着镇中心。
几个月前，时钟开始出故障。起初，它慢了几分钟。接着，情况恶化——它会突然快上几小时，然后又慢下来，显然“病”了。
这引发了一系列混乱。一个孩子看到它快了两小时，以为参加生日派对要迟到了，急得大哭。一位新郎被误导以为自己到得太早，便去网吧消磨时间，结果在自己的婚礼上迟到了两小时。
压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草是一位陆军少校。他相信了时钟，将自己的手表调快了三个小时，并在凌晨三点（而非原定的六点）叫醒士兵进行十英里晨跑。不满的士兵们拜访了银行经理，主动提出凑钱维修。
好心的经理承诺会修好它，咨询了“钟表医生”并订购了特殊零件。在维修期间，她关掉了时钟。直到一辆UPS卡车送来一个小小的替换零件。当时钟终于再次正常发光时，全镇人都松了一口气，重新校对了自己的手表。