As a new father, I quickly learned the true meaning of maternal instinct. Late one night,

I was summoned to the hospital to attend to one of my patients.

I quietly got up in the dark but tripped over a toy and crashed to the floor.

As I lay there rubbing my sore leg, my wife slept on.

　　Then there was a faint cough from the nursery .

Debra leaped out of bed,

running past me down the hall to our baby's room.

When she returned, she looked at me and said, "

What on earth are you doing on the floor?"

刚刚作了父亲，我就很快体会到母性本能的涵义了。

一个深夜，医院召我去照应一位病人。

我悄悄地在黑暗中起了床，

但一只脚绊在一个玩具上，扑通一声摔在地板上。

我倒在那里，揉着疼痛的腿，妻子毫无反应地继续睡着。

突然，婴儿房来轻微的咳嗽声。

戴博拉跃下床来，从我身边跑过，下了客厅到我们婴儿的房间。

她返回来时，看了看我说：“你究竟在地板上干什么？”