It's a balmy afternoon and you've decided to take a leisurely stroll in the park. You soon come across a favorite feature: a large fountain with a statue at its center, gracefully spouting water in all directions to the shallow pool underneath. Feeling lucky, and perhaps a bit wistful, you fish a coin from your pocket, make a wish and toss it into the fountain. Then you notice all the other coins littering the bottom of the fountain. What happens, you wonder, to all that money?

那是个阳光温和的下午，你决定到公园里走一走，散散步。很快，你就走到了最受大家欢迎的标志物那里：那是一眼大大的喷泉，喷泉中间竖着一座雕像，清澈的泉水优雅地往各个方向喷出，最终落入雕塑下方浅浅的水池里。怀着对过去的感恩，和对未来美好生活的渴望，你从口袋里掏出了一枚硬币，对喷泉许愿后，将硬币丢到了水里。水底下都是别人留下的硬币。你不仅有点好奇，这些钱最终都去了哪里。

The practice of tossing coins into fountains likely began in ancient times, when people thought spirits lived inside them. If a person passed by a fountain, well or other water source without tossing in a coin, he or she would surely be followed by a bad luck. The tradition evolved into a more personalized act, and people began making wishes as they tossed coins into fountains and wells. Some coins are thrown into fountains in the hope the coin-bearer will be able to return to the fountain in the future. Whatever the reason, throwing a coin into a fountain is a practice seen all over the world.

将硬币抛进喷泉的习俗可能从古代就开始了，那时候，人们认为喷泉里面住着神灵。假如有人经过喷泉、水井或者其它什么水源的时候不往里面扔枚硬币，就会有噩运缠身。随着时间流逝，这项习俗变得越来越个性化了，往喷泉和水井里面扔硬币的时候，人们还会顺便许个愿。有的人在扔硬币的时候，还会希望自己未来能够回来还愿。不管原因是什么，往喷泉里扔硬币都已经成了全世界人民都在做的事情。