Many people thought that U.S. President Calvin Coolidge always lived in the White House. However, he sometimes lived in the nearby Willard Hotel.
Once, in the middle of a night, the President woke up to see a thief searching his clothes. Coolidge calmly spoke up from the darkness, “I wish you wouldn't take that watch.”
“Why?” asked the shocked man.
Coolidged answered, “Take it near the window and read what is engraved（雕刻） on the back of it.”
The man read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidged, Speaker of the House, by the Massachusetts General Court.” He was very surprised!
“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked. He had never thought he would find the president sleeping in a hotel!
“Yes, I am.” Coolidge said. Then he asked, “Why are you doing this, Son?”
The young man explained that he and two friends traveled to Washington during their college vacation. They spent all of their money and had no money to pay the hotel bill and the train tickets back to school.
Coolidge added up the cost. It came to $32. That may not sound like much now, but it was a big number then. “I'll give you the $32 as a loan(借款）,” the President said, “And I expect you to pay me back.”
The young man thanked him. Coolidge left him with this warning: “Son, you are a nice boy, you are better than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just remember who you are.”
It wasn't until after the death of Mr. Coolidge that this story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the newspaper Los Angeles Times. And the most interesting of all is that the President's notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting. He repaid the $32 loan in full.
