一张“绿色邮票”的梦想：美国爷爷Bob的童年往事
（The Magic of the Green Stamps: A Childhood Tale from Grandpa Bob）
很久很久以前，大约是上世纪六十年代，在没有手机和会员卡的年代，美国商店流行给常客发放一种叫“交易赠券”（Trading Stamps）的奖励。这些像邮票一样的小纸片，单张只有几毫（千分之一美元）的价值。但只要日积月累，顾客就能拿着贴满赠券的册子，去专门的兑换商店换取心仪的奖品——从玩具、锅碗瓢盆，到家具和电器，应有尽有。（Once upon a time, back in the 1960s, long before cell phones and loyalty cards existed, stores across America loved to reward their regular customers with little paper treasures called "Trading Stamps." These tiny slips looked just like postage stamps, and each one was worth only a tiny fraction of a penny. But if you saved them up little by little and filled an entire booklet, you could take it to a special prize shop and trade it in for something wonderful—from fun toys and shiny pots and pans to cozy furniture and household appliances!）
妈妈每次花十块钱，就能得到十张赠券，并把它们交给小Bob保管。小Bob把它们当成宝贝，像完成神圣使命一样，把赠券背面沾点水，一张张工工整整地贴进集券册里。（Every time Mom spent ten dollars, she would get ten stamps and hand them over to little Bob for safekeeping. Little Bob treated them like precious treasures. As if carrying out a sacred mission, he would dab a little water on the back of each stamp and neatly stick them, one by one, into his collector's booklet.）
日复一日，他终于攒出了一本厚厚的、贴得满满当当的集券册！小Bob抱着他的“大宝藏”，跟着妈妈高高兴兴地去换奖品。(Days went by, and the booklet was finally full! Holding his "big treasure," little Bob happily followed his mom to redeem his prize.)
商店里的东西可真多呀！一进门，妈妈就被货架上琳琅满目、五颜六色的商品吸引住了，正仔细地挑选着。妈妈挑花了眼，可小Bob的目光，却被长凳上的“奖品”吸引住了。（There were so many things in the store! Mom was dazzled by the choices, while little Bob's eyes were drawn to a special "prize" on the bench.)
长凳上睡着一个圆嘟嘟的小婴儿，穿着漂亮的花裙子。小Bob心想：天哪，这不就是我一直想要的小妹妹吗！(A chubby little baby in a pretty floral dress was fast asleep on the bench. Little Bob thought: Oh my, isn't this the little sister I've always wanted!)
一直梦想有个小妹妹的小Bob眼睛瞬间亮了！他小心翼翼地走过去，费力地抱起那个熟睡的宝宝，一手搂着娃娃，一手举着自己贴满赠券的本子，径直走到收银台前，认真地仰起头问：
“请问，换这个小妹妹需要多少张交易赠券？”
(Little Bob carefully picked up the sleeping baby, walked up to the counter, and asked loudly, "Excuse me, how many trading stamps for this little sister?")
话音刚落，收银员和周围的顾客先是一愣，随即爆发出阵阵哄堂大笑。收银员笑着摆摆手：“小家伙，这个可不卖哦！”
原来，这是一位顾客的小宝宝，因为逛街睡着了，妈妈才把她暂时放在长凳上休息。(The whole store burst into laughter: "Haha, little guy, this one isn't for sale!" It turned out the baby belonged to another shopper who had placed her on the bench to rest.)
这时，听到笑声的Bob妈妈也赶了过来，又好气又好笑地把小Bob领了回去。
虽然没能用赠券“换”回梦想中的小妹妹，妈妈最后还是用小Bob辛苦攒下的册子，换回了几件实用的家庭必需品。从那天起，“想要一个妹妹”，就成了小Bob心里最温暖最甜蜜的小秘密。（At that moment, hearing the laughter, Bob's mom hurried over and led little Bob back, feeling both exasperating and hilarious.
Although they couldn't "redeem" the little sister of his dreams with the stamps, his mom still used the booklets little Bob had worked so hard to save up to exchange for several practical household essentials. From that day on, "wanting a little sister" became the warmest and sweetest little secret in little Bob's heart.）
