Ella and her younger brother Cody share a glass jar on the kitchen shelf. Their parents drop in coins for chores: emptying the trash, walking the dog, folding laundry. Every Friday, whoever has done the most chores gets to take money from the jar for the weekend.
艾拉和她的弟弟科迪在厨房的架子上共用一个玻璃罐。他们的父母会往里面放硬币，作为做家务的奖励：倒垃圾、遛狗、叠衣服。每个星期五，做家务最多的人可以从罐子里拿钱度周末。
For three weeks straight, the jar has held less money than it should. Ella has kept a careful tally of chores completed. She counts twice, certain she isn't imagining it. She starts to wonder if Cody has been quietly taking coins without asking.
连续三个星期，罐子里的钱都比应有的少。艾拉仔细记着完成了哪些家务。她数了两遍，确信自己没有记错。她开始怀疑，科迪是不是一直在悄悄拿硬币，却没有问过。
She doesn't accuse him directly. She doesn't want to start a fight over something she isn't fully sure about. Instead, she starts leaving a small, folded note next to the jar each morning. It lists exactly how much money should be inside.
她没有直接指责他。她不想为一件自己并不完全确定的事情吵架。于是，她开始每天早上在罐子旁边留一张折起来的小纸条，上面写着罐子里应该有多少钱。
On Wednesday, the note reveals the mystery on its own. The jar holds four dollars less than the note says it should. This time, though, Ella happens to be in the kitchen. Their younger cousin, visiting for the week, wanders in and takes coins for the ice cream truck outside.
星期三，纸条自己揭开了谜底。罐子里的钱比纸条上写的少了四美元。不过这一次，艾拉正好在厨房里。他们的小表弟来住一个星期，晃悠着走进来，拿了几枚硬币去买外面冰激凌车上的冰激凌。
"I always do that at Grandma's house," the cousin explains, confused by Ella's surprised expression. "There's a jar just like this one there too, and Grandma says it's for treats."
“我在奶奶家总是这样，”表弟解释道，对艾拉惊讶的表情感到困惑，“那儿也有一个一模一样的罐子，奶奶说是用来买零食的。”
Ella realizes immediately what happened. Nobody had explained the household jar's actual rules to their visiting cousin. He had simply assumed it worked the way jars did at home. She isn't annoyed anymore, just relieved the mystery has such a simple, harmless explanation.
艾拉马上明白了是怎么回事。没有人向来做客的表弟解释过这个家里罐子的真正规矩。他只是以为它和他家里的罐子一样。她不再生气了，只是庆幸这个谜团的答案这么简单，又没有恶意。
That evening, she tells Cody the truth. She half expects him to be smug about being wrongly suspected. Instead, he just laughs. He suggests they make a proper sign for the jar. That way, any more visiting cousins will understand the rules.
那天晚上，她把真相告诉了科迪。她本以为他会因为被冤枉而得意洋洋。可他只是笑了。他提议他们给罐子做一块像样的牌子。这样，以后再来做客的表亲，就都能明白规矩了。
