美国著名作家克拉伦斯·戴（1874—1935）在他的自传体作品《与父亲一起生活的日子》中细致幽默地描写了他们一家人在19世纪90年代的纽约度过的日子，刻画了他的父亲老克拉伦斯·戴的生动形象。书中的每一篇故事都令读者捧腹，十分耐人寻味。
　　父亲结婚之前一直过着衣来伸手、饭来张口的日子，更何况他的母亲是烹调高手。然而婚后的日子却不再如此无忧无虑，多了一些磕磕绊绊。有一天，父亲回到家，家里一片狼藉，厨子辞工离去，母亲又生病了，而家里的大儿子克拉伦斯才四岁，还有两岁的乔治和一个小婴儿，看来要吃不上晚饭了。父亲问了保姆介绍所的地址，二话不说就前往那里找厨子。父亲不按常规程序雇佣保姆，而保姆介绍所的管理人员当然拗不过固执蛮横的父亲。父亲凭其独特的个性和方式迅速有效地找到了自己心仪的厨子，而且在他家一干就是26年。
　　父亲的饮食习惯和他的性格一样固执，不易改变。自从他从保姆介绍所把玛格丽特带回家，他就适应了玛格丽特做的饭菜。夏天里一家人要去乡下度假，而玛格丽特得留在城里看守房子，因此母亲在乡下另雇了厨子。但是父亲就是吃不惯别人做的饭菜，即使吃了他还是觉得肚子里空空如也。母亲没办法，只好把玛格丽特从城里叫到乡下来做饭。
　　One late afternoon when Father came up from down town， he found his home much upset. Our cook had walked out and left us. I was a child of four， George was two， and there was a new baby besides. Mother was ill. She hadn’t been able to leave us to go to an agency. And as she was no hand at cooking herself， the outlook for dinner was poor.
　　This state of affairs was unprecedented（前所未有的）in all Father’s experience. In his father’s home， they never changed their servants suddenly； they seldom changed them at all； and as his mother was a past mistress（女能人）of cooking， he had always been doubly protected. Since his marriage， he had had to live a much bumpier（更坎坷的）life. But this was the worst yet.
　　He asked Mother， who was lying in bed， what she was going to do about it. There were no telephones then， and she couldn’t do anything at all， at the moment； but she said she would try to go to an agency in the morning and see what she could find. “In the morning？ Good God！” Father said. “Where is the place， anyhow？” And he clapped on his hat and strode out again， over toward Sixth Avenue.
　　As I heard the story years afterward， it was late when he got there， and he bounded up（跳上）the front stoop（门廊，门阶）two or three steps at a time， and went quickly into the little office， where the gaslights were burning. He had never been in such a place before， and to his surprise it was empty， except for a severe-looking woman who sat at a desk at one side.“Where do you keep ’em？” he urgently demanded， his mind on the question of dinner.
　　She looked at him， got out her pen， and opened a large book deliberately. “I will take your name and address，” she informed him， “and then， if you please， you may give me the details as to what kind of person you require and when you would wish her to call.”
　　But Father had no time， he told her， for any damned fol-de-rol（廢话）. “Where do you keep ’em？”he said again. She was standing in the way of his dinner. I can imagine how his face must have reddened and how his eyes must have blazed at（怒视）her. “I am asking you where you keep them！” he roared. 　　“Why， the girls are in there，” the lady explained， to calm him， “but clients are not allowed in that room. If you will tell me the kind of position you wish me to fill for you， I will have one come out.”
　　Before she’d half-finished， Father had thrown open the door and gone in. There sat a crowd of the girls， young and old， sickly and brawny（強壮的）， of all shapes and sizes； some ugly， some pretty and trim（整洁的）and stylish（时髦的）， some awkward； nurses， ladies’ maids， waitresses， washerwomen， and cooks.
　　The manager was by now at Father’s elbow（在父亲旁边）， trying to make him get out， and insisting that he tell her the position he wished her to fill. But Father was swiftly glancing around at the crowd， and he paid no attention. He noticed a little woman in the corner， with honest grey eyes， who sat there， shrewd-looking（看起来很精明的）and quiet. He pointed his cane over at her and said， “I’ll take that one.”
　　The manager was flustered（慌张不安的）， but still she kept trying to enforce her authority. She protested she didn’t yet know the position…
　　“Cook，” Father said， “cook.”
　　“But Margaret doesn’t wish to be a cook， she wants—”
　　“You can cook， can’t you？” Father demanded. Margaret’s plain little face was still pink with excitement and pleasure at being chosen above all that roomful by such a masterful（专横傲慢的）gentleman. Father had probably smiled at her， too， for they liked each other at once. Well， she said， she had cooked for one family.
　　“Of course she can cook，” Father said.
　　He said afterward， when describing the incident， “I knew at once she could cook.”

　　The manager didn’t like this at all. The discipline of the office was spoiled. “If you are going to take her anyhow，” she said acidly（尖刻地）， “what day would you wish her to come， and will you please give me your name？”
　　“Yes， yes，” Father said， without giving it. “Come on， Margaret.” And he planked down（立即付款）the fee and walked out.
　　Margaret followed him through the door and trotted over to our home at his heels. He sent her down to the kitchen immediately， while he went upstairs to dress.
　　“I don’t know why you make such a fuss（大惊小怪，小题大做）about engaging new servants. It’s simple enough，” he said comfortably to Mother that evening， after Margaret’s first dinner.
　　It was the first of a long series， for she stayed with us twenty-six years.