His?mother?was?right.?Tony?was?a?good,?strong?boy?and?he?worked?very?hard?for?Mr?Wood.?The?old?farmer?did?not?pay?him?much?money.?Tony?ate?his?meals?in?the?kitchen?and?he?slept?in?a? little?room?at?the?top?of?the?farmhouse.?But?the?farmer?was?kind?to?him?and?taught?him?a?lot.? ?Mr Wood?had?no?sons.?He?had?one?daughter.?Her?name?was?Linda,?and?she?was?a?year?younger? than?Tony.?Mr?Wood?loved?Linda?dearly,?but?he?wanted?a?son?very?much.?He?was?like?a?father? toTony.
他母親說得沒錯。托尼是個壯實的好孩子，他替伍德先生干活很賣力。老農場主給他的報酬不多。托尼在廚房里吃飯，睡在農場樓房頂層的小閣樓里。但是農場主待他很好，而且還教給他很多東西。伍德先生沒有兒子，只有一個女兒，名叫琳達，比托尼小一歲。伍德先生非常寵愛琳達，但他很想要個兒子。他待托尼如同自己的親生孩子。
Tony?was?happy.?At?the?end?of?every?day?his?back?was?tired?and?his?legs?hurt,?but?he?slept?like?a?baby.?He?ate?Mrs?Wood's?good?country?food.?He?drank?a?lot?of?milk.?Soon?he?needed?new? clothes.?He?sent?his?old?clothes?home?for?his?brothers.?He?sent?his?family?money,?too.
托尼很開心。每天干完活他都會覺得背酸腿痛，但是他晚上睡得很好。他吃的是伍德太太做的可口的農家飯菜，還喝很多牛奶。舊衣服很快就穿不下了，他把舊衣服寄回家給弟弟們穿，還給家里寄錢。
Sometimes?Tony?visited?his?family.?He?enjoyed?those?visits,?but?he?was?always?happy?to?leave?again.?"I'm?a?country?boy?now,"?he?thought.
In?the?school?holidays?Pip?and?his?brother?John?came?to?the?farm.?Pip?was?seventeen?and?John?was?sixteen,?but?they?were?both?still?at?school.?Their?father?had?a?large?shoe?shop?in?the?town.?He?wanted?them?to?go?to?college?and?learn?to?be?businessmen.?But?the?boys?spent?all?their? holidays?on?Mr?Wood's?farm.
托尼有時候也回家看看。他喜歡回家逗留一陣子，但離開的時候也總是很高興。“現在我是個鄉下孩子了。”他這樣想道。
學校放假的時候，皮普和他的弟弟約翰會到農場來。皮普17歲，約翰16歲，但兄弟倆仍舊在上學。他們的父親在城里開了一家很大的鞋店，希望這兄弟倆能上大學，學習如何經商。但是兩個男孩一到假期就來伍德先生的農場。
"I?want?to?be?a?farmer,"?said?Pip.
"That's?right,"?said?John.?"Farming?is?the?best?job?in?the?world!"
"But?you?just?come?here?in?the?summer!"?said?Tony.?"It?isn't?always?summer,?you?know.?The?sun?doesn't?always?shine.?Farmers?work?hard?in?the?winter?too.?It's?a?hard,?dirty?job."
"But?you?like?it!"?said?John,?and?he?was?right.?Tony?liked?his?job?very?much.
“我想做個農場主。”皮普說道。
“對呀，”約翰答道，“農活兒是天底下最棒的活計！”
“可是你們只有夏天才來！”托尼說道，“要知道，這里不會永遠是夏天，也不會永遠陽光燦爛。農夫們冬天也得辛苦勞作。這是份又累又臟的活計。”
“但是你喜歡干農活兒啊！”約翰說道。他說得對極了，托尼的確非常喜歡自己的工作。
