The Nightingale and the Rose（夜莺与玫瑰） 立即阅读
"She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses," cried the young Student, "but in all my garden there is no red rose." From her nest in the oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and she looked out through the leaves and wondered. "No red rose in all my garden!" he cried, and his beautiful eyes filled with tears. "Ah, on what little things does happiness depend! I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched."
The Gift of the Magi（麦琪的礼物） 立即阅读
ONE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
Can I see my baby? the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
There are two kinds of clocks. There is the clock that is always wrong, and that knows it is wrong, and glories in it; and there is the clock that is always right—except when you rely upon it, and then it is more wrong than you would think a clock could be in a civilized country. I remember a clock of this latter type, that we had in the house when I was a boy, routing us all up at three o'clock one winter's morning.
I look at spiders and butter-flies. I watch caterpillars and moths. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who notices these things. But if it hadn't been for a crowded cafeteria, I wouldn't Have ever noticed Valeri. After all, I wasn't looking for new friends. Valeri was a new student. She walked to class with her books huddled against her chest and her head down. He talked only when the teacher asked her a question.
Catch of a lifetime（一生的收获） 立即阅读
He was 11 and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family's cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake. On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset,then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.
A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as Christmas present. On Christmas eve, when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shining new car, admiring it. Is this your car, Mister? he said. Paul nodded, "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded, "You mean your brother gave it to you, and didn't cost you anything?"
A box full of kisses（装满吻的盒子） 立即阅读
The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy.” The man was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was empty.
A carpenter's story（木匠的故事） 立即阅读
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurel life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week ,but he needed to retire. They could get by. The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.
I was six years old and my sister, Sally Kay, was a submissive three.For some reason, I thought we needed to earn some money. I decided we should “hire out” as maids. We visited the neighbors, offering to clean houses for them for a quarter cents. Reasonable as our offer was, there were no takers. But one neighbor telephoned Mother to let her know what Mary Alice and Sally Kay were doing.