平淡生活未见丝毫涟漪，约翰烦闷难捺；追求“完美人生”，他必须“铤而走险”……
hat are the most important things in life? You have to fall in love. You have to go to war. You have to be poor. Nobody's life is complete without these three things.
But do you also have to be rich? Is that as important as the other things? No, it isn't. A poor man is very happy when he finds a dollar. A rich man can't understand this.
Everybody in the world has to have these three things. In the country, they aren't very important. You don't have to have a lot of money. Love is not as strong as it is in the city. Wars are smaller. People only fight about little things. But in the city, they are more important. John Hopkins learned this in a very short time.
The Hopkins apartment was the same as a thousand other apartments. There were some flowers in one window. An old dog sat in the other window and waited.
John Hopkins was the same as a thousand other men. He went to work every day, and every week he brought home twenty dollars. He worked in an office on the ninth floor. What did he do? We don't know.
Mrs. Hopkins was the same as a thousand other women. She liked to stay at home, but she also liked to go out on Sunday afternoons. She always bought food at the same store, and she paid for it later. She liked to go shopping when things were cheap. She didn't like her neighbor on the third floor. She looked out the window for hours, and she listened to the sounds in the street. She was the same as every woman in an apartment in the Big City.
In the Big City, important things happen, and they happen quickly. You meet an old friend from school in the street. You go for a walk in the park with your friend. Somebody hits you on the head and takes your money. You go to the hospital. You meet a girl and you marry her. Then she leaves you. You lose your job. You meet a rich girl. Everything happens very fast.
You walk through the streets, and somebody calls your name. You find something on the ground, or something falls on your head. You have an accident or you lose your money. You fight with a waiter, or you fight with your wife.
John Hopkins sat in his apartment after a small dinner. He sat in an armchair and looked at an ugly picture on the wall. Mrs. Hopkins told a boring story about the neighbors, but he didn't listen. The old dog looked at him in a very unfriendly way and showed its yellow teeth.
There was no love or war in this apartment, and they weren't poor. Life wasn't complete, but there was hope.
John Hopkins wanted to say something interesting. “There's a new man at work,” he said.
“Oh, really?” said Mrs. Hopkins. She wasn't very interested.
“"Mr. Whipple wore his new coat today,” he said. “I liked it. It's gray and...”
An idea came to him and he stopped suddenly. “I'm going to the store. I want a cigar,” he said. He put on his hat and coat, and he walked out the door and down the stairs.
It was a warm evening, and the streets were full of small children. The older boys and girls talked on the stairs. Their parents stood in the doorways and looked out at the street.
John Hopkins walked into Mr. Freshmayer's cigar store for the first time. Mr. Freshmayer didn't know him, so he didn't like him.
“Give me a good cigar,”called Hopkins happily.
Mr. Freshmayer wasn't happy, but he brought him a cigar. Hopkins lit it and began to smoke. Then he looked for some money, but he didn't have any.
“I don't have any money now, my friend,” said Hopkins. “I'll pay you later.” He started to leave the store.
Freshmayer was happy when he heard this. “I was right!” he thought. “I don't know this man, and now he doesn't want to pay me!”
He didn't say a word. He ran after Hopkins and kicked him hard. Hopkins didn't like this, so he hit him in the eye. His cigar was in his mouth. They moved out into the street and fought. People stopped and watched.
Of course, a policeman came. Hopkins was a nice, quiet person. He liked to stay at home in the evening and read. He didn't like to fight, but now he was angry.
They fought in front of a food store. Hopkins hit the policeman hard, and the policeman fell into some boxes of fruit and vegetables and broke a big box of eggs. Then Hopkins hit Freshmayer again hard. “Next time,”Freshmayer thought, “the customer can pay me later!”
Hopkins quickly ran away down the street. The policeman and Freshmayer ran behind him. There was egg on the policeman's coat.
Then Hopkins saw a long, fast red car in the street. The driver called to him, “Jump in !”Hopkins ran to the car and jumped in. The inside of the car was red too. It flew away down the street as quickly as a bird. The driver wore a dark blue jacket. He drove quickly and he didn't say a word.
“Thank you, my friend,” said Hopkins. “Did you see the two men behind me? They almost caught me.”
The driver didn't answer. Hopkins sat quietly and smoked his cigar. Ten minutes later, the car arrived in front of a large brown house. The driver got out.
“ Come quickly,” he said. “Miss Long will talk to you. She wants help. I'd like to help her, but she never asks me. No, I'm only a driver.”
The driver took Hopkins into the house and then into a small room. A beautiful young woman stood up when they came in. Her face was unhappy and her eyes were angry.
“Miss Long,” said the driver, “I went to Mr. Long's house. He wasn't there, so I came back. On the way, I saw this man. He was in a big fight, with ten, or twenty, or thirty men! They were policemen! He hit one, or three, or eight policemen! Mr. Long wasn't home, so I brought this man. He can help you !”
“Thank you, Armand,” said the young woman. “You can go.” She turned to Hopkins.
“I sent my driver to my brother's house because I want help. There's a man in this house. He's very unkind to me. When I talk to my aunt about this, she laughs at me. Armand says that you're strong. There aren't very many kind, strong men here in the City. Will you help me ? ”
John Hopkins put down his cigar. He looked at the beautiful young woman, and he fell in love for the first time.
He didn't forget the apartment, or the old dog, or his wife. This was different. This wonderful person wanted his help, and he couldn't say no.
“Show me the man!”he said. “I don't usually fight, but I'm enjoying it tonight!”
The young woman showed him a door. “He's in there,” she said. “Are you afraid?!”
“Me?” said John Hopkins. “Give me a flower from your hair.”She gave him a red, red flower. He put it inside his coat, next to his heart.
He opened the door and walked into a room full of books. A young man sat in an armchair with a book in his hand.
“Do you like to study?” Hopkins asked loudly. “Come here, and I'll give you a lesson! Then you won't be unkind to people!”
The young man was surprised. He stood up and quickly caught John Hopkins by the arms. He took him to the front door of the house.
“Be careful, Ralph!” cried the young woman. “Don't hurt him! He's very kind! He only wanted to help me !”
The young man carefully pushed John Hopkins outside the door and then closed it.
“Bess,” he said quietly. “You read too many stories. How did that man get in here?”
“Armand brought him,” she answered. “I think you're very unkind! You don't want to buy me that nice big dog! I sent Armand for my brother. I was very angry with you.”
The young man took her arm. “Listen, Bess,” he said. “Think about it. That dog's very dangerous. He has very big teeth, and he likes to hurt people. Of course I don't want to buy him for you. All right? Now, let's tell your aunt that we're friends again.”
Arm in arm, they moved away.
John Hopkins walked to his apartment. The neighbor's five-year-old daughter sat outside. Hopkins gave her the nice red flower and walked upstairs.
Mrs. Hopkins looked at him, but she wasn't interested. “Did you get your cigar?” she asked.
“Yes, I did,” he answered. “And I went for a little trip around town. It's a nice night.”
He sat down with a smile in the big armchair, and took out his cigar. He lit it again, and looked at the picture on the wall.
“Do you remember?” He said to his wife. “I started to tell you about Mr. Whipple's new coat. It's light gray, and it looks really nice.”