One day a rich father took his young son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "how was the trip?"
一天,一位富有的父亲带着他的小儿子去乡下旅行,打算让他见识一下穷人的生活。他们在一户非常贫穷人家的农场里住了一天一夜。旅行回来之后,父亲问儿子:“你觉得这次旅行怎样?”
"Very good, Dad!"
“棒极了,爸爸!”
"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.
"你看到穷人的生活了吗?”父亲问道。
"Yeah!" "And what did you learn?"
“是的!”“那你从中学到了什么呢?”
The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon."
儿子回答道:“我看到我们家只有一只狗,而他们家有四只。我们的游泳池一直延伸到花园中间,而他们的小溪没有尽头。我们在花园里装了进口灯具,而他们有满天星斗。我们的天井接着前院,而他们拥有整个地平线。”
When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.
当小男孩说完的时候,他的父亲目瞪口呆。
His son added, "Thanks, dad, for showing me how poor we are!"
他的儿子接着又补充道:“谢谢爸爸让我看到我们是多么贫穷!”
Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude toward life, you've got everything!
贫富的真意完全取决于你看待事物的角度,难道不是吗?如果你拥有爱人、朋友、家庭、健康、幽默感和对生活的积极态度,你就拥有了一切!
In our life, some people always like the hearsay and parrot. In fact, everything should be analysed with our brain, and believe that the rumors would stop at a wise man. As Hodge said, sift though using the three sieves.
生活中,总是喜欢道听途说,人云亦云的这么一部分人!其实,凡事多用大脑分析,相信谣言止于智者。就像文章中霍奇爷爷说的一样,要用三个筛子筛选一下!
Grandpa Hodge was the most popular sage in the village because he was so philosophic in speaking and doing things that everyone revered him as "Grandpa Wisdom".
霍奇爷爷是村里最受欢迎的长者,因为他讲话做事都很有哲理,大家都尊称他为“智慧爷爷”。
One day, a man hurried to Grandpa Wisdom and said, "Grandpa, I have a piece of news to tell you…"
有一天,一个人匆匆跑到智慧爷爷那里说:“爷爷,我有个消息要告诉你……”
"Wait a moment," Grandpa Hodge stroked his beard and cut him short, "Have you sifted the news you will tell me with three sieves?"
“等一下,”霍奇爷爷摸了摸胡子,打断了他的话,“你要告诉我的消息,用三个筛子筛过了吗?”
"Three sieves? Which three sieves?" the man asked with puzzlement.
“三个筛子?哪三个筛子?”那人不解的问。
"The first sieve is the truth. Is the news you will tell me true?" Grandpa Hodge asked, narrowing his eyes.
“第一个筛子叫真实。你要告诉我的消息确实是真的吗?”霍奇爷爷眯着眼问道。
"I don’t know because I overhead it from the street."
“不知道,我是从街上听来的。”
"Now let's check it with the second sieve," Grandpa Hodge went on, "If the news you will tell me is not true, it should be friendly."
“现在再用第二个筛子来审查吧,”霍奇爷爷接着说,“你要告诉我的这个消息就算不是真实的,也应该是善意的吧?”
The man hesitantly answered,"No, just the other way round…"
那人踌躇的回答说:“不,正好相反......”
Grandpa Hodge once again interrupted him, "So let's use the third sieve. Can you tell me if the news that is exciting you is very important?"
霍奇爷爷再次打断他的话:“那么我们再用第三个筛子,请问,使你如此激动的消息很重要吗?”
"It is not so important," the man answered with embarrassment.
“并不怎么重要,”那人不好意思地回答。
Grandpa Hodge patted the shoulder of the man and said significantly, "Now that the news you will tell me is not true, friendly or important, please don't tell me. Then it won’t trouble you and me."
霍奇爷爷拍了拍那人的肩膀,意味深长的说:“既然你要告诉我的事,既不真实,也非善意,更不重要,那么就请你别说了吧!这样的话,它就不会困扰你和我了。”
The man took a tumble and never spread the overhead news ever since.
那人恍然大悟,从此以后再也不到处传播道听途说的消息了。