Great slabs of iron were unloaded for him at the wharf, and for days no one saw him. 出现一大块从码头卸下的铁板，人们好几天没看见他了。

　　He was shut up in his workshop, 富兰克林把自己关在工作间里，

　　and from morning until night people heard ringing blows on iron coming from it as if it were the shop of some country blacksmith. 从早到晚，人们都听见铁器响亮的撞击声，仿佛那是个铁匠铺子。

　　No one could explain what Benjamin Franklin was doing, though. 然而，没人能解释本杰明·富兰克林在做什么。

　　In the middle of the winter Beth and William and their mother went to a friend's house to stay for a week. 仲冬，贝丝、威廉和阿诺德太太去朋友家住了一个星期。

　　Mrs. Arnold was not well, and their house was very cold. 阿诺德太太身体不舒服，他们的房子冰冷冰冷的。

　　The week for which they were invited became two, then three. 他们去了一个星期、两个星期、三个星期。

　　"We must go home," Mrs. Arnold said at last. " “我们必须回家，”阿诺德太太最后说。”

　　Mr. Franklin said that he would stop this after- noon and help William carry the carpet-bag. 富兰克林说，中午他会来接我们，帮威廉提旅行袋。

　　It is time that we began our work again." 是时候重新开始工作了。”

　　As they took their homeward way through the snow, they noticed again the happy smile on Mr. Franklin's kind face. 当他们穿过雪地回家的时候，他们又注意到富兰克林慈祥的面容上露出幸福的微笑。

　　He held the handle of the bag with one hand and Beth's chilly fingers with the other. 他用一只手握住提包的把手，另一只手握住贝丝冰冷的手指。

　　He was the spryest of them all, as they hurried on. 路上，他是他们当中最活泼的一个。

　　They understood why when they opened the door of their home. 打开家门时，他们明白了为什么

　　They started, at first, wondering if they had come to the wrong house. 起初，他们开始怀疑是不是走错了。

　　No, there, just as they had left them, were the rows of shining copper pans on the wall, 没有错，他们离开时墙上一排排闪闪发光的铜盘，

　　the candlesticks on the mantelpiece, the warming pan in the corner, and the rag rugs on the floor. 壁炉上的烛台，角落里的加温锅，地板上的破布地毯都还在这。