I couldn’t think of a thing to say. I grabbed up the bar of chocolate and hid it next to my chest before I turned around. Father picked me up by the shoulder straps of my overalls and took me over to the woodpile. I didn’t know anybody could spank as hard as he did！
Then he stood me on my feet and asked if I thought I had deserved it. He said it wasn’t so much that I’d taken the chocolate， but that I’d tried to hide it from him.
“Son，” he said， “I know you help to earn the family money. We might say the chocolate was yours in the first place. You could have had it if you’d asked for it， but I won’t have you being sneaky about things. Now， do you want to keep your money separated from mine—or are we partners？”
I never knew till then how much I wanted my money to go in with Father’s. When I went to sleep my hand was still hurting—from where he squeezed it when we shook hands.
我喜歡吃各種各樣的巧克力，不過，最喜歡的還是無糖巧克力。媽媽買了一塊這樣的巧克力，而我怎麽也控製不住不去想它。
在揚穀場幫爸爸揚場時，我突然想到一個好主意。我可以從那塊巧克力上切下一點兒來吃。這樣，媽媽一定會發現少了，但是我會在她想到是有人偷吃了巧克力之前，向她坦白事情的真相。或許，我還有可能不會挨揍呢。
一直等到媽媽外出去喂雞之後，我才跟父親說想回家喝點水。但是，當我剛拿到巧克力準備用刀切的時候，便聽到媽媽回來了。於是，我將巧克力藏進襯衣的前襟裏，急忙離開。在回去幫爸爸幹活之前，我先去了穀倉，並把巧克力藏在那裏。
從那以後的整個下午，我都不敢去看爸爸一眼。每一次他跟我說話，都讓我心驚肉跳。我的雙手開始劇烈地顫抖，於是他問我怎麽了。我跟他說，隻是因為雙手覺得冷而已。我知道，爸爸不會相信這個理由，每次他朝我看時，我的心跳就會加速。我不再想要那塊巧克力了，隻希望能有個機會，神不知鬼不覺地把它放回去。