Happiness comes from giving
快樂源於奉獻
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."
這是一個關於一位衣著華貴的美麗女士的故事。她對她的心理醫生抱怨說她感到生活極度空虛，毫無意義。
心理醫生叫來負責清掃辦公室地板的老婦人，然後對這位富有的女士說："我叫瑪麗告訴你她是如何發現快樂的。你要好好聽她說。"
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.
於是，老婦人放下掃帚，坐在一張椅子上，開始講述她的故事："我丈夫死於瘧疾，三個月後，我唯一的兒子被汽車撞死了。我失去了所有的親人。我一無所有。我睡不著覺，吃不下飯，無法向任何人微笑，我甚至想要結束自己的生命。一天晚上，一隻小貓一直從單位跟隨我回了家。我很可憐那隻小貓。外麵很冷，因此，我讓小貓進了屋。我給了它一些牛奶，它把碟子舔得幹幹淨淨，然後它蹭我的腿。幾個月裏我第一次笑了。我想如果幫助一隻小貓都可以讓我微笑，也許幫助別人會更能讓我快樂。
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.
於是，轉天我烤了一些餅幹送給一個臥病在床的鄰居。每天，我都試著為別人做些好事。看見別人快樂真使我無比快樂。今天，我不知道還有什麼人比我吃得好、睡得香。通過服務他人，我發現了快樂。"
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.
聽了老婦人的話，富有的女士哭了。錢能買到的東西她都有，但是她卻遺失了那些錢無法買到的東西。
一隻神奇的白羊
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，我在我家的後院裏搜尋我感興趣的小東西時，發現木頭圍牆上有一個洞。從洞口望去外麵是和我家房後的一樣的野地。我退了幾步，因為我隱約感覺到有事要發生。洞口忽然伸出了一隻手--和我年紀相仿的男孩的小手。我再靠近，小手不見了，取而代之的是一隻神奇的白綿羊玩具。
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.
這隻玩具小羊的羊毛已經掉了，輪子也不見了，不過這讓它顯得更真實。我從沒見過如此美妙的羊！我回頭從洞口望去，但男孩已經不見了。我走進屋裏，拿出了我珍愛的寶貝：一個打開的鬆果--帶著樹脂和濃濃的鬆香味。我把它放在洞口，然後拿著小羊離開了。
我再也沒有看到那隻手或那個男孩。我也再沒有見過那樣的一隻羊。玩具小羊最後在一次失火中被燒掉了。但直到今天，盡管我已50歲了，但每當走過一個玩具店時，我還禁不住向窗口窺探，但是這已經沒用了。那樣的玩具小羊已經不再生產了。
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.
我一直是個很幸運的人。感受手足之情是生命中美好的事。人們彼此間愛的感受點燃了我們生命的火焰。但是，感受那些來自於陌生人的愛，感受那些來自不知名的人的愛，感受那些在睡眠和孤寂中撫慰我們的人的愛，那些當我們處於危險或感到無助時救護我們的人的愛，那更加偉大和美麗，因為它擴展了我們自身的邊界，將所有生命融為一體。
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.
那次互換禮物使我第一次明白了一個寶貴的道理：全人類是一體的。多年以後，我在困境中和在被迫害的背景下再次感受了這一經驗。
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.
你可能不會覺得奇怪--那一刻我試圖用那帶有樹脂和鬆香的鬆果換取人類的兄弟之愛。從我在圍牆邊留下鬆果的那一刻起，我就在我不認識的那些人的大門上寫下我的誓言。他們包括獄中的人、被追捕的人和那些孤獨的人。
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.