第8章 to 4

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa with his 45-year-old son.Suddenly a cove perched on their windowsill.

The father asked his son,"What is this?"

The son replied,"It is a dove."

After a few minutes,the father asked his son for the second time,"What is this?"

The son said,"Father,I have just told you.It's a dove."

After a little while,the old father asked his son for the third time,"What is this?"

This time the son told his father crudely,"It's a dove,a dove."

After a moment,the father asked his son for the fourth time,"What is this?"

This time the son shouted at his father,"Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again?I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A DOVE!’ Don't you understand this?"

A little later the father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary.On opening a page,he asked his son to read that page.

"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa,when a dove sat on the windowsill.My son asked me 23 times what it was,and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a dove.I hugged him lovingly for 23 times each time he asked me the same question.I did not at all feel irritated.Instead,I felt affection for my innocent child."

When the little child asked him 23 times "What is this",the father only felt affection for his son.But when today the father asked his son the same question for just 4 times,the son felt irritated.

So if your parents attain old age,do not repulse them or look at them as a burden,but speak to them a gracious word,be obedient and considerate to them.From today on,say this aloud,"I want to be kind to my parents,for they have always showered their selfless love on me."

23比4

一位80岁的老人和他45岁的儿子一起坐在沙发上。突然，一只鸽子落在了窗台上。

父亲问儿子：“这是什么？”

儿子回答：“这是一只鸽子。”

过了几分钟，父亲第二次问儿子：“这是什么？”

儿子说：“爸爸，我刚刚告诉过你，这是一只鸽子。”

过了一小会儿，老父亲第三次问儿子：“这是什么？”

这次，儿子生硬地告诉父亲：“这是一只鸽子，一只鸽子。”

又过了一会儿，父亲第四次问儿子：“这是什么？”

这次儿子冲父亲大声喊道：“为什么你一直反复问我同样的问题？‘这是一只鸽子！’我已经告诉你许多次了，你听不明白吗？”

片刻之后，父亲走进他的房间，拿回来一本破旧的日记。他翻开一页，让儿子读。

“今天我和3岁的小儿子坐在沙发上，这时有一只鸽子卧在窗台上。儿子问了我23次那是什么，我共回答了他23次，说那是一只鸽子。每一次他问同样的问题，我都亲切地拥抱他，共拥抱了他23次，我一点儿也不感到恼火。相反，我感受到了我对天真孩子的慈爱之情。”

小孩子问了23次“这是什么”，父亲只是感到了对儿子的慈爱之情。但是，如今父亲只问了4次相同的问题，儿子就感到恼火。

所以，如果你的父母上了年纪，不要排斥他们，也不要把他们视为负担，而要对他们言语亲切、孝顺体贴。从今天起，要大声这样说：“我会善待父母，因为他们总是给予我大量无私的爱。”