Happiness comes from giving
快乐源于奉献
This story is about a beautiful，expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty； it had no meaning.
So the counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors，and then said to the rich lady，"I’m going to ask Mary here to tell you how she found happiness. All I want you to do is to listen."
这是一个关于一位衣着华贵的美丽女士的故事。她对她的心理医生抱怨说她感到生活极度空虚，毫无意义。
心理医生叫来负责清扫办公室地板的老妇人，然后对这位富有的女士说："我叫玛丽告诉你她是如何发现快乐的。你要好好听她说。"
So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story： "Well，my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody ... I had nothing left. I couldn’t sleep； I couldn’t eat； I never smiled at anyone； I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside，so I decided to let the kitten in. I got it some milk，and it licked the plate clean. Then it rubbed against my leg，and for the first time in months，I smiled. Then I stopped to think： if helping a little kitten could make me smile，maybe doing something for people could make me happy.
于是，老妇人放下扫帚，坐在一张椅子上，开始讲述她的故事："我丈夫死于疟疾，三个月后，我唯一的儿子被汽车撞死了。我失去了所有的亲人。我一无所有。我睡不着觉，吃不下饭，无法向任何人微笑，我甚至想要结束自己的生命。一天晚上，一只小猫一直从单位跟随我回了家。我很可怜那只小猫。外面很冷，因此，我让小猫进了屋。我给了它一些牛奶，它把碟子舔得干干净净，然后它蹭我的腿。几个月里我第一次笑了。我想如果帮助一只小猫都可以让我微笑，也许帮助别人会更能让我快乐。
So the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbour who was sick in bed. Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy. Today，I don’t know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I’ve found happiness，by giving it to others.
于是，转天我烤了一些饼干送给一个卧病在床的邻居。每天，我都试着为别人做些好事。看见别人快乐真使我无比快乐。今天，我不知道还有什么人比我吃得好、睡得香。通过服务他人，我发现了快乐。"
When she heard that，the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy，but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.
听了老妇人的话，富有的女士哭了。钱能买到的东西她都有，但是她却遗失了那些钱无法买到的东西。
一只神奇的白羊
One time，investigating in the backyard of our house the tiny objects and minuscule beings of my world，I came upon a hole in one of the boards of the fence. I looked through the hole and saw a landscape like that behind our house，uncared for，and wild. I moved back a few steps，because I sensed vaguely that something was about to happen. All of a sudden a hand appeared，a tiny hand of a boy about my own age. By the time I came close again，the hand was gone，and in its place there was a marvelous white sheep.
一次，我在我家的后院里搜寻我感兴趣的小东西时，发现木头围墙上有一个洞。从洞口望去外面是和我家房后的一样的野地。我退了几步，因为我隐约感觉到有事要发生。洞口忽然伸出了一只手--和我年纪相仿的男孩的小手。我再靠近，小手不见了，取而代之的是一只神奇的白绵羊玩具。
The sheep’s wool was faded. Its wheels had escaped. All of this only made it more authentic. I had never seen such a wonderful sheep. I looked back through the hole but the boy had disappeared. I went into the house and brought out a treasure of my own： a pinecone，opened，full of odor and resin，which I adored. I set it down in the same spot and went off with the sheep.
I never saw either the hand or the boy again. And I have never again seen a sheep like that either. The toy I lost finally in a fire. But even now，almost fifty years old，whenever I pass a toy shop，I look furtively into the window，but it’s no use. They don’t make sheep like that anymore.
这只玩具小羊的羊毛已经掉了，轮子也不见了，不过这让它显得更真实。我从没见过如此美妙的羊！我回头从洞口望去，但男孩已经不见了。我走进屋里，拿出了我珍爱的宝贝：一个打开的松果--带着树脂和浓浓的松香味。我把它放在洞口，然后拿着小羊离开了。
我再也没有看到那只手或那个男孩。我也再没有见过那样的一只羊。玩具小羊最后在一次失火中被烧掉了。但直到今天，尽管我已50岁了，但每当走过一个玩具店时，我还禁不住向窗口窥探，但是这已经没用了。那样的玩具小羊已经不再生产了。
I have been a lucky man. To feel the intimacy of brothers is a marvelous thing in life. To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life. But to feel the affection that comes from those whom we do not know，from those unknown to us，who are watching over our sleep and solitude，over our dangers and our weaknesses，that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens out the boundaries of our beings，and unites all living things.
我一直是个很幸运的人。感受手足之情是生命中美好的事。人们彼此间爱的感受点燃了我们生命的火焰。但是，感受那些来自于陌生人的爱，感受那些来自不知名的人的爱，感受那些在睡眠和孤寂中抚慰我们的人的爱，那些当我们处于危险或感到无助时救护我们的人的爱，那更加伟大和美丽，因为它扩展了我们自身的边界，将所有生命融为一体。
That exchange brought home to me for the first time a precious idea： that all of humanity is somehow together. That experience came to me again much later； this time it stood out strikingly against a background of trouble and persecution.
那次互换礼物使我第一次明白了一个宝贵的道理：全人类是一体的。多年以后，我在困境中和在被迫害的背景下再次感受了这一经验。
It won’t surprise you then that I attempted to give something resiny and fragrant in exchange for human brotherhood. Just as I once left the pinecone by the fence，I have since left my words on the door of so many people who were unknown to me，people in prison，or hunted，or alone.
你可能不会觉得奇怪--那一刻我试图用那带有树脂和松香的松果换取人类的兄弟之爱。从我在围墙边留下松果的那一刻起，我就在我不认识的那些人的大门上写下我的誓言。他们包括狱中的人、被追捕的人和那些孤独的人。
That is the great lesson I learned in my childhood，in the backyard of a lonely house. Maybe it was nothing but a game two boys played who didn’t know each other and wanted to pass to the other some good things of life. Yet maybe this small and mysterious exchange of gifts remained inside me also，deep and indestructible，giving my life light.
这就是我童年时在独门后院里所学到的一课。也许它只不过是两个素不相识的男孩间交换生命中美好事物的一个游戏。但也许这次微不足道的神秘的礼物交换，深深扎根于我的心中，为我的生命带来光明。
A piece of my heart
一瓣心灵
One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes，they all agreed it was truly the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.
一天，一个青年男子站在城镇中央宣布他拥有整个的山谷中最美丽的心。一大群人聚集在他周围赞美他的心，因为它真的很完美，上面没有一个痕迹或裂缝。是的，他们全都承认这是他们见到的最美丽的心。青年男子非常骄傲，更大声地吹嘘他的美丽的心。
Suddenly，an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said，"Why，your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."The crowd and the young man looked at the old man’s heart. It was beating strongly，but it was full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in，but they didn’t fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact，in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.
The people stared - how could he say his heart was more beautiful，they thought？ The young man looked at the old man’s heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking，"he said， "Compare your heart with mine. Mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
突然，一个老人来到众人前面说："你的心不如我的心美丽。"众人和年轻人查看老人的心。它跳动地很有力，但充满疤痕。有些地方一些瓣被拿走了，补上了其他的瓣，但是它们不是特别匹配，有些边缘也不齐。实际上，在有些地方整个瓣都不见了，只留下一些深沟。
人们注视着老人的心--他们想他怎么能说他的心更美丽呢。青年男子看着老人的心笑了。他说："你开玩笑吧。比比咱们的心，我的心很完美，而你的心却满是疤痕和缺口。"
"Yes，"said the old man，"yours is perfect？鄄looking，but I would never trade with you. You see，every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them，and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart，but because the pieces aren’t exact，I have some rough edges，which I cherish，because they remind me of the love we shared."
"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away，and the other person hasn’t returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges. Although these gouges are painful，they stay open，reminding me of the love I have for these people too，and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have. So now do you see what true beauty is？"
老人说："是的，你的心看起来完美，但是我永远不会和你交换。我的心上的每道疤痕都代表我对一个人付出过一份爱--我掰下一瓣给他们，他们通常也会掰下一瓣心给我填补那块空缺。但是由于这两块不完全一样，总会留下一些粗边。我珍爱这些粗边，因为它们提醒我我们曾经分享过爱。"
"有时我送出自己的心瓣，但对方却未回报。于是就有了这些深沟。尽管这些深沟很疼，但是它们提醒我曾经爱过那些人，我希望有一天他们能回馈我的爱，把那些深沟填充。现在你懂得什么是真正的美了吗？"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man，reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering，placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man’s heart. It fit，but not perfectly，as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart，not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever，since love from the old man’s heart flowed into his.
青年男子默默站着，泪流满面。他走到老人跟前，从自己那的完美、年轻而又美丽的心上掰下一块，用颤抖着的双手把它交给老人。老人接过来，把它放在自己的心上，然后从他那疤痕累累的心上掰下一块放在年轻人伤口上。它们不能完全吻合，有一些锯齿的边缘。年轻的人看着自己的心，不再完美但比以往更加美丽，因为来自老人心中的爱已流入他的心间。
A tear to the eye
一滴眼泪
Barbara was driving her six year old son，Benjamin，to his piano lesson.
They were late，and Barbara was beginning to think she should have cancelled it. There was always so much to do，and Barbara，a night？鄄duty nurse at the local hospital，had recently worked extra shifts.
She was tired. The sleet storm and icy roads added to her tension. Maybe she should turn the car around.
芭芭拉正开车送她六岁的儿子本杰明去上钢琴课。
她们肯定迟到了，芭芭拉开始考虑她也许应该取消这次课。总是有太多事要做，芭芭拉是本地医院的一个夜班护士，最近经常加班。
她很累。雪霰和结冰的路面使她更加紧张。也许她应该掉头回去。
"Mom！"Ben cried. "Look！"Just ahead，a car had lost control on a patch of ice. As Barbara tapped the brakes，the other car rolled over wildly，and then crashed sideways into a telephone pole.
Barbara pulled over，skidded to a stop and threw open her door. Thank goodness she was a nurse - she might be able to help these unfortunate passengers.
Then she paused. What about Ben？ She couldn’t take him with her. Little boys shouldn’t see scenes like the one she anticipated. But was it safe to leave him alone？ What if their car were hit from behind？
本叫道："妈妈！看！"前面的一辆汽车在冰上打滑失去了控制。芭芭拉轻轻地刹车，而另一辆汽车快速翻滚起来，撞向路边的电线杆。
芭芭靠边停住车，打开了车门。谢天谢地，她是一名护士--她能够帮助这些不幸的乘客。
她忽然停下来。本怎么办？她不能带着他一块去。小孩子不应该看到血腥的场面。但把他一个人留下安全吗？如果他们的汽车被从后面撞了怎么办？
For a brief moment Barbara considered going on her way. Someone else was sure to come along. No！ "Ben，honey，promise me you’ll stay in the car！"
"I will，Mommy，"he said as she ran，slipping and sliding toward the crash site. It was worse than she’d feared. Two girls of high school age are in the car. One，the blonde on the passenger side，was dead，killed on impact.
芭芭拉一度想继续赶路。肯定会有其他人来的。不行！"本，宝贝，答应我乖乖留在汽车里！"
"我会的，妈咪。"本回答说。她跌跌撞撞地向出事地点跑去。情况比她想象的还要严重。车里的两个女孩可能是中学生。坐在乘客席上的那个金发女孩已经死了，她死于撞击。
The driver，however，was still breathing. She was unconscious and pinned in the wreckage. Barbara quickly applied pressure to the wound in the teenager’s head while her practiced eye catalogued the other injuries. A broken leg，maybe two，along with probable internal bleeding. But if help came soon，the girl would live.
司机仍有呼吸，但她已昏迷不醒，并被挤在汽车的残骸里。芭芭拉一边按住女孩头部的伤口，一边目测她其他部位的伤势。有一条腿，或许两条腿骨折了，可能还伴有体内出血。但是如果救助及时，女孩还可能活下来。
A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cellular phone. Soon Barbara heard the ambulance sirens. A few moments later she surrendered her lonely post to rescue workers.
"Good job，"one said as he examined the driver’s wounds. "You probably saved her life，ma’am."Perhaps.
But as Barbara walked back to her car，a feeling of sadness overwhel？鄄
med her，especially for the family of the girl who had died. Their lives would never be the same. Oh，God，why do such things have to happen？
一个卡车司机停下来用他的手机拨打求助电话。很快，芭芭拉听到了救护车的鸣笛声。很快，抢救人员接替了芭芭拉。
一个工作人员检查了伤者的伤势后说："干得好，女士。你可能救了她的命。"也许是这样。
但是，当芭芭拉走回汽车时，她被悲哀的感觉所淹没，尤其是为那个死去女孩的家庭。他们的生活将彻底改变。啊，上帝，为什么这样的事一定要发生？
Slowly Barbara opened her car door. What should she tell Benja？鄄
min？ He was staring at the crash site，his blue eyes huge. "Mom，"he whispered，"did you see it？"
"See what，Honey？"she asked.
"The angel，Mom！ He came down from the sky while you were running to the car. And he opened the door，and he took that girl out."
芭芭拉慢慢地打开了车门。她该怎么和本杰明说呢？他正盯着车祸地点，蓝色的眼睛睁得大大的。他小声问："妈妈，你看见了吗？"
她问："看见什么，宝贝？"
"天使，妈妈！当你向汽车跑去的时候，他从天上飞下来，打开了门，把那个女孩带走了。"
Barbara’s eyes filled with tears，"Which door，Ben？"
"What about the driver？"
Ben shrugged，"I didn’t see anyone else."
Later，Barbara was able to meet the families of the victims. They expressed their gratitude for the help she had provided. Barbara was able to give them something more - Ben’s vision.
芭芭拉眼中含满泪水。"本，是哪个门？"
"乘客席那边的门。他握着女孩的手，一起飞向天堂去了。"
"司机呢？"
本耸耸肩说："我没见到别人。"
后来，芭芭拉遇到了死者的家属。他们非常感谢她的帮助。芭芭拉把本所看到的景象也告诉了他们。
There was no way he could have known what happened to either of the passengers. Nor could the passenger door have been opened. Barbara had seen its tangle of immovable steel herself. Yet Ben’s account brought consolation to the grieving family. Their daughter was safe in Heaven. And they would see her again.
本不可能知道乘客的情形，乘客席一侧的车门也根本打不开，芭芭拉亲自看到了车门扭成的大铁疙瘩。但是本的话确实给悲痛欲绝的那家人带来了安慰。女儿在天堂安然无恙。他们还能再次见面。
A Christmas story
一个圣诞节的故事
Year after year my brothers，sister and I would wait anxiously on Christmas morning to hear my father’s voice saying it was all right to come down. Usually I was the first one awake，(although I never admitted that I lay in bed waiting for my little brother to wake up，since it was the assumed job for the baby of the family.) I can remember Christmas since I was probably 6 or 7. I remember every year，starting at Thanksgiving，my eager for the season is growing.
每个圣诞节的早晨，我和兄弟姐妹们都会焦急地等待父亲招呼我们下楼。通常我都是第一个醒来（尽管我从不承认我是睁着眼躺在床上等我最小的弟弟"先"醒过来，因为大家都认为这是家里最小的孩子应该做的事情）。我对圣诞节的印象大概是从6、7岁开始的。我还记得每年从感恩节开始，我对圣诞节的渴望就与日俱增。
Even now as I look through the boxes of Christmas decorations I see the same familiar ones： the ornaments with our birth years on it，and our five stockings，four for the kids，one for the dog. It used to be easy for us to decide when to put up the decorations. But now that we all have jobs and social lives it is usually a rushed activity. I’m still not sure what year our annual watching of "White Christmas"ended.
甚至现在每当我翻看装有圣诞饰品的盒子时，我都会看见那些熟悉的东西：写有出生年份的装饰品和我们的五条袜子（四双是给孩子们的，一双是给狗的）。以前，我们很容易决定什么时候挂上装饰物，但自从我们上了班，开始社交活动后，这件事就变得很匆忙了。我一直不清楚是从哪一年开始我们每年一次观看"白色圣诞节"的活动结束了。
Each year，especially as we get older，little things change and during the holiday season is when you realize them. It almost brings a pain to a little place in your heart where all your hidden feelings go. The worst was the year after two of my grandparents had past away. Now when I think back to it，I miss having my grandfather slide our presents across the floor. I even miss him calling me my nickname"Jessie"，even though I can’t stand when people call me that.
每年，特别是随着我们逐渐长大，身边的小事在不知不觉中变化，在假期中你更能体会到这种变化。这给我们隐秘的内心深处带来丝丝伤痛，其中最令人感伤的是在祖父母去世后的那年里。每当我回想起过去，我就很怀念我的祖父在地板上滑动我们礼物的情景；我甚至怀念他喊我的小名"杰西"，虽然我不愿意人们那么叫我。
Things change，not always for the good，but not always for the bad either. And the things that don’t change have the most important meaning to us，and I’m sure they will for the rest of our lives. After all，every time I hear my father’s words"All right，you guys，come on down，nice and slow"and we go down the stairs in age descending order，first my brother，then me，then my sister，then my older brother. I still get the same feelings in the pit of my stomach ... the feelings of love，giving，peace，and most of all the true Christmas spirit.
一切都在变化，或好，或坏。但是那些永恒不变的东西对于我们以后的生活意义重大。每次当我听到父亲说："好了，孩子们，下来吧，小心，慢些"的时候，我们就按照从小到大的顺序下楼。弟弟第一个，我第二，然后我的姐姐，再是我哥哥。在我的内心深处依然会产生同样的感情：爱、给予、和睦和那最重要的真正的圣诞情怀。
