At a Railway Station
(After Mark Twain)
Once, a long time ago, I went to a railway station. I planned to take the night train to New York and go on a journey with a friend. Many people were on the platform and they were all pushing onto the long passenger train. It was already full. I asked the man at the booking office if I could have two tickets. He answered sharply."No!" I felt hurt. It was important for me to have the tickets.
I found a railway official and asked him if I could get a place somewhere in a sleeping-car, but he said sharply, "No!You can't. The train is full. Don't trouble me any more."
I felt very hurt indeed. I said ti my friend,"They talk to me like this because they don't know who I am. If they knew..." But my friend said:"Don't be foolish. Do you think it would help you to get a seat on the train? There are no empty seats."
I went up to the same official and said very politely that my name was Mark Twain. But he only replied:
"I told you not to trouble me any more."
I said to my friend:"He may not have heard my name." But my friend said that the official had heard my name quite clearly, but that he didn't care, that was all.
Just then I noticed that a young porter in a sleeping-car was looking at me. He breathed something in the train conductor's car, and the conductor came over to me, removed his cap and said very politely.
"Can I help you ,sir? Do you want a place in a sleeping-car?"
"Yes, I certainly do," I said
The porter took our cases and we got into the sleeping-car. The porter saw that we were comfortably settled in our places. Then he said,"Now, is there anything you want, sir?"
When the porter left I smiled at my friend and said:"Well, what do you say now?"
My friend looked ashamed.
"Well," he said,"you were right. I'm sorry I said all those things to you on the platform. I was foolish, not you. I'm glad I came here with you."
Just then the porter came to the door again and said:
"Oh,sir, I recognized you at once when I saw you. And I told the conductor so."
"Really,"I said, and I gave him twice as much as I usually give to a porter." Who am I then?"
"You're Mr. McClellan , of course, the mayor of New York," he said and disappeared.