《一个真实的玩笑》英译 

一个风雨交加的夜晚，一对老夫妇急忙走进一家旅馆，要求住宿一晚。 旅店的夜班服务生礼貌地说：“非常抱歉，今天的房间已经订满了。 不过，你们可以待在我的房间，它虽然很简陋，但还是挺干净的。我要值班，可以在办公室休息，顺便处理有关账务的问题。”这位年轻人很诚恳地提出这个建议。

老夫妇大方地接受了他的建议，并对造成服务生的不便致歉。第二天，雨过天晴，老先生要前去结帐时，柜台前仍是昨晚的那位服务生。服务生依然亲切地说：“昨天您住并不是饭店的客房，所以我们不会收您的钱。”

老先生点头称赞：“你是每个旅馆老板梦寐以求的员工，或许改天我可以帮你盖栋旅馆。”服务生觉得有些受宠若惊，但是因为这个说法实在太夸张了，所以他只把它当成一句玩笑。

两年后，这位服务生收到老先生寄来的挂号信，信中说了那个风雨交加的夜晚所发生的事，另外还附一张邀请函和来回纽约的机票，邀请他到纽约一游。

在曼哈顿的一个路口，服务生在遇到了当年的旅客，老先生指着路口矗立着的一栋华丽的新大楼说：“这是我为你盖的旅馆，希望你来为我经营，记得吗？我在当时曾提出这样的建议，告诉你吧，我可是认真的。”

这位服务生惊喜万分，说话都变得结结巴巴：“你是不是有什么条件？你为什么选择我呢？你到底是谁？”

“我叫做威廉·阿斯特，我没有任何条件，我说过，你正是我梦寐以求的员工。”

这栋旅馆就是华尔道夫饭店，这家饭店在1931年启用，是纽约极致尊荣的地位象征，也是各国高层政要造访纽约时下榻的首选。当时接下这份工作的服务生就是乔治·波特，一位奠定华尔道夫世纪地位的人。

One dark stormy night, an elderly couple hurried into a hotel and asked whether they could be put up for the night. “I’ m very sorry,” the clerk on night shift said politely, “we are all booked tonight. But you could say in my room if you don’t mind. It’s not exactly a suite, but it’s clean. As I’m on duty, I’ll be staying up in the office anyway, and I can do some bookkeeping business there.” The young man gave the sincere advice.

The elderly couple accepted his offer with gratitude. They apologized for the inconvenience they had caused him. The next day, the rain stopped and it cleared up. When the old gentleman went to pay his bill, the clerk behind the counter was that same helpful young man. “The room you and your wife stayed in is not a proper guest room in this hotel, so you don’t need to pay,” said the clerk, with the same friendly smile.

The old gentleman nodded in appreciation: “You are an employee that every boss in the hotel business would dream of. Perhaps someday I’ll build a hotel for you. “The clerk was amazed but, deciding that the guest must have been joking, he gave the remark no more thought.

Two years later, the young man received a registered letter from the old gentleman, in which he recalled the experience of that dark stormy night. The letter also enclosed a formal invitation and a round-trip air ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay a visit.

At a street comer in Manhattan, the young man met his former guest. The old gentleman, pointing to a magnificent new building towering over the crossroads, said, “Look, that is the hotel I promised to build for you. I hope you will manage it for me. Remember what I said then? Well, I was serious about it.”

Overwhelmed with surprise, the young man stammered, “But…will there be any conditions, sir? Why do you choose me? And who are you?”

“My name is William Aster. There’s no condition whatsoever. Like I told you before, you are the best employee I could ever dream of!”

This building was none other than the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Starting business in 1931, this hotel has been a symbol of supreme status and honour in the city of New York, the number-one choice for visiting state leaders from various countries. The young man who became its first manager was George Boldt, the man who turned Waldorf into one of the most glamorous hotels in the world.