Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded① the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic， wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job， he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally， a short， thin man， well past middle age， approached the farmer.
“Are you a good farmhand？” the farmer asked him.
“Well， I can sleep when the wind blows，” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer， the farmer， desperate for help， hired him. The little man worked well around the farm， busy from dawn to dusk， and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed， the farmer grabbed② a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled， “Get up！ A storm is coming！ Tie things down before they blow away！”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly， “No sir. I told you， I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the response， the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead， he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement， he discovered that all of the haystacks③ had been covered with tarpaulins④. The cows were in the barn， the chickens were in the coops， and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant， so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
① dreadv. 惧怕，担心
② grabv. 抓住，夺得
③ haystackn. 干草堆
④ tarpaulinn. 防水油布(或帆布)；防水衣；防水帽
当风刮起的时候
几年前，一个农场主在大西洋沿岸拥有一块土地，他经常贴广告雇佣人手。可是，很多人都不愿意在大西洋岸边的农场干活，他们害怕大西洋上空剧烈的风暴会破坏房屋和庄稼。所以当这个农场主招工面试时，收到的是一连串坚定的拒绝。
最后，有一个矮小瘦弱、已过中年的男人来到农场主面前。
“你是个干农活的好手吗？”农场主问他。
“是的，刮风的时候我可以睡觉，”那个矮个男人回答道。
尽管农场主对他的回答有点迷惑，可苦于找不到帮手，于是就雇佣了他。那个矮个男人在农场干活很卖力，从早到晚都不闲着，农场主对他的工作也很满意。
一天晚上，海面上刮起了呼啸的大风，农场主从床上跳了起来，抓起灯笼就直奔向旁边雇工住的地方。他晃着那个矮个男人喊道：“起来！刮风暴了！快把东西系好，别刮跑了！”
那个矮个男人在床上翻了一下身，坚定地说道：“不，先生，我告诉过你，刮风的时候我可以睡觉。”
农场主被他的回答激怒了，气得真想当场把他解雇。不过，他还是赶紧跑出去先应付暴风雨了。然而，令他惊奇的是，他发现所有的干草垛已经盖好了防水油布，牛在牲口棚里面，小鸡在鸡笼里，门闩好了，百叶窗也关紧了，一切都栓牢了，什么东西都刮不走了。
此刻，农场主才明白了雇工那句话的意思，于是，当风刮起来的时候，他也回自己的床上睡觉了。