In the morning of life came a good fairy with her basket,and said:"Here are gifts. Take one, leave the others,And be wary,choose wisely!For only one of them is valuable."
The gifts were five :Fame, Love ,Riches,Pleasure,Death.The youth,said,eagerly:"There is no need to consider";and he chose Pleasure.
He went out into the world and sought out the pleasures that youth delights in . But each in its turn was short-liyed and disappointing,vain and empty;and each,departing,mocked him .In the end he said:"These years i have wasted.If i could but choose again, I would choose wisely."
在生命之初，一位仙女带着篮子走来，对一位年轻人说道：＂这里有几份礼物，你可以从中选一份，留下其它的．你要小心，做一个明智的选择；啊，你要明智地进行选择！因为这里面只有一份礼物是珍贵的．＂
一共有五份礼物：名声，爱情，财富，快乐，还有死亡．年轻人迫不及待地说：＂没有必要多想．＂他选了快乐．
此后他就开始步入世界，追逐年轻人所喜爱的快乐．然而每一种快乐都是如此短暂，令人感到空虚和失望．每当一种快乐弃他而去时，还要把他嘲弄一番．最后，年轻人感叹道＂这些年我都浪费了．如果我可以再选一次，我一定会做一个明智的选择．＂
２
The fairy appeared,and said:"Four of the gifts remain.choose once more:and oh,remember--time is flying,and only one of them is precious."
The man considered long,then chose Love;and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy's eyes.
After many,many years the man sat by a coffin,in an empty home.And he communed with himself,saying:"One by one they have gone away and leftme;and now she lies here,the dearest and the last.Desolation after desolation has swept over me;but each hour of happiness the treacherous trader,Love,sold me i have paid a thousand hours ofo grief!Out of my heart of hearts i curse him!"
这时仙女又出现了，她说：＂这里还有四份礼物．再选一次吧．噢，记住时间飞逝，而其中只有一件是珍贵的．＂
他思考了很久，最终选择了爱情；他没有注意到仙女眼里泛起的泪光．许多许多年之后，这个人坐在一口棺材旁边，屋子里空荡荡的．他自言自语道：＂他们一个一个地走了，只剩下我．现在，她就躺在这儿，我最亲爱的人儿，我最后的亲人．孤独一次又一次把我包围．都是因为爱情这个阴狡诈的商人，他出售给我的每个甜蜜的小时，我现在都要用数千个小时的悲伤来偿还！我从心底里诅咒他！＂
3
"Choose again."It was the fairy speaking."The years have you wisdow-surely it must be so.There gifts remain.Only one of them has anyworth-remember it ,and choose warily."
The man reflected long,then chose Fame;and the fairy,sighing,went her way.
Years went by and she came again,and stood behind the man where he sat solitary in the fading day,thinking.And she knew his thought:"My name filled the world,and its praiss were on every tongue,and it seemed well with me for a littlewhile.How little a while it was!Then came envy;then detraction;then hate;then persecution.Then derision,which is the begining of the end.And last of all came pity,which is the funeral of
责任编辑:yechenglu
