A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.
As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him in to his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.
Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.
When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... “PAID IN FULL”.
一个年轻人大学毕业在即。过去的几个月里,他一直心仪某经销商展出的一款靓丽跑车。他知道父亲绝对买得起,就把购车的愿望告诉了父亲。
毕业典礼的日子一天天临近,年轻人一直期待父亲示意他车已买好。终于,典礼当天早晨,父亲把他叫进书房,说自己为有这么一个有出息的儿子感到骄傲,还讲了自己多么疼爱他。父亲递给儿子一个包装很精美的礼品盒。年轻人好奇里面是什么,同时又有点失望,他打开盒子一看,是一本精致的皮面装帧的圣经,上面还用纯金压印了自己的名字。他生气极了,抬高嗓门冲着父亲吼道:“你那么有钱,就只给我买一本圣经当礼物?”之后,他夺门而出,根本没拿那本圣经。
很多年过去了,年轻人事业有成。住上了漂亮房子,家庭幸福美满。他觉得父亲年事已高,自己也许应该回家看看。毕业典礼那天之后,父子俩就再没见过面。他还没来得及安排行程,就收到一张电报,得知父亲已经过世,全部财产由他继承。年轻人得马上赶回家料理后事。
到达父亲生前住地的时候,他心里突然很难过很懊悔。他开始整理父亲的重要文件,看到了那本自己当年没拿走的圣经,依然崭新。他泪流满面,翻开圣经,一页一页地翻看着。这时,从后半本里掉出一把车钥匙。钥匙标签上写着经销商的名字,就是当初他心心念念想买的那辆跑车所属的经销商。标签落款日期是毕业典礼当天,上面还有一行字:“车款已全数付清” 。
-emboss [ɪmˈbɒs] v. 压印浮凸字体(或图案)
-storm [stɔːm] v. 猛冲
-will [wɪl] v. 将(财产等)遗赠某人
祝福来时,常常披着与我们想象中不同的外衣。