The Value of an Hour

A man came home from work late, tired and upset. Then he found his five-year-old son   41  for him at the door. The little boy asked him how   42  he made an hour. “That’s none of your business. If you   43  know, I make $50 an hour.” the man said impatiently. Then the little boy,   44  his head down, asked again   45  he could borrow $25 from his father. The man was a little angry because he

46  his son was to buy a silly and useless toy   47  some other nonsense with that money, so he   48 . The little boy, quietly and sadly, went to his own   49  and shut the door.

A moment later, the man started to feel  50  for what he said just now. He knew for sure his   51  really didn’t ask for money very often, so he went to the little boy’s room to find out the   52 . “Sorry, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,”   53 the man. “Here’s the $25 you asked for.” The little boy sat straight up,   54  so happy. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some crumpled-up (压皱的)   55 . Seeing thatthe boy already had money, the man   56  started to feel angry.

The little boy   57  counted out his money, and then looked up at his father with a happy look. “Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an

  58  of your time? Please come home   59  tomorrow. I’d like to have dinner with you.” the little boy said. With tears in his eyes, the man put his arms around his little boy, and   60  him that he would surely do it.