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I've always believed
There is a secret passage in the sound
It can reach the heart
- "For The Text Sometimes"
Hello everyone, I am Liu Jun, welcome to the Harvest Reader Mini Novel Series, we will select wonderful works from the vast sea of domestic and foreign miniature novels, and introduce one article for you every week. Here, we feel the charm of miniature novels together——
Read to you today the novel "The Gift" by Spencer Johnson.
gift
Spencer Johnson / by Liu Xiangya Pan Cheng / Translation
The old man and the child have known each other for more than a year, and the two enjoy chatting together.
One day, the old man said to the child, "There is one thing called a gift because of all the gifts you can receive, you will find that it is the most precious." ”
"Why is it so precious?" The child asked.
The old man explained: "Because after receiving this gift, you will become happier and do better no matter what you do every day." ”
"Wow!" The child cried out excitedly, though he did not fully understand the old man's words, "I hope that one day someone will give me such a gift." ”
The old man laughed.
He didn't know how many birthdays the child would have to have to grasp the value of the gift.
The old man loved watching the kids playing nearby.
The old man often saw him swinging in a nearby tree, saw his bright smiling face, and heard his cheerful laughter.
The child is very happy, no matter what he does, he is very engaged, and others will feel happy just by looking at him.
The child gradually grew older, and the old man has been consciously or unconsciously paying attention to the way he does things.
On Saturday mornings, he occasionally saw his little friends mowing the lawn across the street.
Children whistle as they work. It seems that no matter what he does, he can do it happily.
One morning, the child saw the old man and remembered the gift that the old man had mentioned to himself.
Children are of course very familiar with gifts, such as bicycles from their last birthday and those found under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.
But when he thought about it, he realized that the happiness that those gifts brought him would not last long.
He wondered: What was so special about that gift?
What exactly makes it better than other gifts?
What makes me feel happier and do things more smoothly?
He couldn't think of an answer, so he crossed the street and asked the old man.
His question was very childish, "Is that gift like a magic wand that allows me to fulfill all my wishes?" ”
"No," replied the old man with a smile, "that gift has nothing to do with wands and wishes. ”
The child still did not understand the old man's words, and was still thinking about the gift when he went back to mow the lawn.
Time flew by, and the child grew into a teenager.
He began to become increasingly dissatisfied with everything around him. When he feels impatient, he dreams of the unknown outside world. His mind drifted back to when he had been talking to the old man, and he found himself trying more and more to find out what the gift was.
He went to the old man again and asked, "Does that gift make me very rich?" ”
"Yes, in a sense, it will." The old man told him, "That gift allows you to acquire many different kinds of wealth, but its value is not something that money can measure." ”
The teenager was even more confused.
"You told me that you'll be happier when you get that gift."
"Yes," said the old man, "you'll also become more efficient, you'll be able to do things better, and thus you'll be more successful." ”
What does it mean to "become more successful"? The teenager asked curiously.
"To be more successful is to get more of what you need," replied the old man, "anything you feel is important." ”
"At different times in life, our definition of success may also change."
"For you now, success may mean getting along better with your parents, getting better grades in school, doing better athletic activity, or getting a part-time job after school and getting a raise for doing a great job."
"At some point, success may mean more achievement and abundance, or maintaining peace of mind and a good sense of self no matter what happens."
"What is success for you?" The teenager asked.
The old man laughed: "At my age, success is to be able to smile often, love deeper, and better serve others." ”
The teenager immediately asked, "Do you think this is all that gift did for you?" ”
"That's right!" The old man replied.
"Oh, I've never heard anyone else talk about such a gift. I guess it probably doesn't exist, right? ”
The old man replied, "Oh, it does exist." I think you may not figure it out yet, though. ”
Suddenly, he thought of something. I see!
He knew what that gift was... Know what it was then, and know what it is now.
The gift is to grasp the moment, to be engrossed in what is happening, to cherish and appreciate what you get every day.
What you just heard is the novel "The Gift" by the American writer Spencer Johnson. The novel takes the growth experience of the little boy as the clue, and uses the questions and answers of the little boy and the old man to promote the change and development of the plot, setting up suspense layer by layer, making people constantly think about what the gift is, and finally revealing the answer to us in a confusion.
As the gift was revealed, we were stunned: it turned out that happiness was so simple. Its secret is to cherish everything you have and treat the people and things around you seriously and responsibly. Cherishing is bliss, and contentment will allow us to get more different happiness.
People's life is short and long, "only happy people cherish today, and only those who cherish today are happy people." This is the famous quote of William Ralph Inchi of the United States. It is true that life is not satisfactory nine times out of ten, only people who know how to grasp the time can enjoy happiness in time, and constantly adjust their mentality to be content and happy.
Thank you for listening to today's harvest readers, I am Liu Jun, here, read others, but also find yourself, keep the memories, and see the future... Together we share the power of words.
Planner: Song Tao
Reader: Liu Jun
Producer: Chen Hui
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