马克·吐温著作的《三万元遗产》描写的是：湖滨镇萨拉丁·福斯特一家意外得到远方族叔的三万元遗产。在这之前，一家人相处和睦，省吃俭用，过着不算富裕但很充实的生活。但到了得到遗产之后，一家人总想着这笔钱。他们想着该怎么花，怎么用这笔钱去赚钱。经过一系列的折腾，最终他们被这笔钱所累，精神都有些失常，家庭关系不再和睦。就像萨利在最后时刻说的那样：“飞来的不义之财是圈套，对我们没有好处啊！”

　　The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories is an 1906 comic short story collection by American humorist and writer Mark Twain.
　　
　　Contents
　　
　　THE $30,000 BEQUEST
　　A DOG’S TALE
　　WAS IT HEAVEN? OR HELL?
　　THE CALIFORNIAN’S TALE
　　A HELPLESS SITUATION
　　A TELEPHONIC CONVERSATION
　　EDWARD MILLS AND GEORGE BENTON: A TALE . . .
　　SAINT JOAN OF ARC
　　THE FIVE BOONS OF LIFE
　　THE FIRST WRITING-MACHINES
　　ITALIAN WITHOUT A MASTER
　　ITALIAN WITH GRAMMAR
　　A BURLESQUE BIOGRAPHY
　　GENERAL WASHINGTON’S NEGRO BODY-SERVANT . .
　　WIT INSPIRATIONS OF THE “TWO-YEAR-OLDS”
　　AN ENTERTAINING ARTICLE
　　A LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
　　AMENDED OBITUARIES
　　A MONUMENT TO ADAM
　　A HUMANE WORD FROM SATAN
　　INTRODUCTION TO “THE NEW GUIDE OF THE CONVERSATION IN PORTUGUESE AND ENGLISH”
　　ADVICE TO LITTLE GIRLS
　　POST-MORTEM POETRY
　　A DECEPTION
　　THE DANGER OF LYING IN BED
　　PORTRAIT OF KING WILLIAM III
　　DOES THE RACE OF MAN LOVE A LORD?
　　EVE’S DIARY
　　THE INVALID’S STORY
　　THE CAPTAIN’S STORY
　　MARK TWAIN: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
　　IN MEMORIAM
　　THE BELATED RUSSIAN PASSPORT
　　TWO LITTLE TALES
　　_ DIPLOMATIC PAY AND CLOTHES
　　EXTRACTS FROM ADAM S DIARY
　　THE DEATH DISK
　　A DOUBLE-BARRELLED DETECTIVE STORY