Many years ago, there lived a very rich man who wanted to do something for the people of his town. But first he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help. So he placed a very large stone in the center of the main road into town. Then he hid behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow.
“Who put this stone in the center of the road?” said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued his way. Another man came along and did the same thing; then another came, and another. All of them complained about the stone in the center of the road, but not one of them tried to remove it. Late in the afternoon, a young man came along. He saw the stone and said, “The night will be very dark. Some neighbor will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone.”
The young man then began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his strength to move it to one side. But imagine his surprise when under the stone he found a bag full of money and this message: “This money is for the thoughtful person who removes this stone from the road. That person deserves help.”
【参考译文】
谁值得帮助
很多年以前，居住着一个非常富有的人，他想为城镇里的人们做些事。但他首先想知道他们是否值得帮助。因此他在入城的主要道路中心放了一块非常大的石头，然后他藏在一棵树的后面等着。很快一个老人带着一头母牛走过来了。
“谁在路的中心放这块石头呀？”老人说， 但他并没有尝试去移走那块石头。相反, 他比较困难地跨过石头，继续他的路程。另一个人走过来了，并且做了同样的事；然后另一个又来了，每个都如此。他们全部都抱怨石头挡在路的中心，但他们当中没有试着移走它。下午过后, 一个年轻人走过来了。他看见了石头说，“晚上会很黑的。哪个邻居在天黑后路过这里，会给石头绊倒的。”
年轻人于是开始移走石头。他推呀推，用尽所有的力气去把石头推到一边。结果他在石头下面发现了一个装满金钱的袋子和这样一个纸条：“这些钱是给那个从路中搬走石头的体贴的人。那个人是值得帮助的。”你可以想像他有多惊喜!
【人生启迪】
在生活中，有时对于我们只是举手之劳的事，对帮别人可能是一个莫大的帮助。其实，当我们用满腔的热忱去帮助别人时，我们也会很开心；同时，当别人因得到帮助而开心时，我们就会感到无比的快乐——说不定因为你今天为别人伸出了一只手，明天回报你的可能是一个拥抱！