A boy who lived in an orphanage often asked the dean pessimistically and sentimentally, “No one wants me. What's the point of living on earth?”
The dean always smiled but didn't reply.
One day the dean handed a stone to the boy and said, “Tomorrow morning take this stone to the market for sale, but not for ‘true sale'. Remember, no matter how much money other people offer, you absolutely cannot sell it.”
The next day the boy squatted in one corner of the market. Unexpectedly, many people wanted to buy the stone, and the price they offered was higher and higher.
Back to the orphanage, the boy excitedly reported to the dean. The dean smile and ordered him to hawk in the gold market tomorrow. In the gold market, some people even offered the price ten times higher than that of yesterday to buy the stone.
Finally, the dean ordered the boy to display the stone in the gem market. As a result, the price of the stone rose ten times than that of yesterday. Because the stone wasn't sold at any cost, it was spread as a “rare gem”.
Excitedly, the boy went back to the orphanage holding the stone in both hands and reported all this to the dean.
Looking at the boy, the dean said slowly, “The value of life, like this stone, will have a different significance in a different environment.”
一个孤儿院的小男孩总是感到悲观、多愁善感，他问院长：“没人要我，那我活着还有什么意义呢？”
院长一直笑而不答。
有一天，院长递给男孩一块石头，对他说：“明早把这石头拿去集市上卖，可不是让你真卖。记住，不管别人开价多少，你绝对不要卖。”
第二天，小男孩蹲在集市的角落里。没想到有很多人都想买这块石头，开的价一个比一个高。
回到孤儿院，小男孩兴奋地跑去向院长报告。院长笑着让他明天再去一趟金市叫卖。在金市上，甚至有人开出了高出昨天十倍的价格要买他的石头。
最后，院长让他拿着石头去珠宝市场展示一番。结果，石头的价格比前一天又长了十倍。因为出再高的价他也死活不卖，人们就开始传说那石头是一块“绝世珍宝”。
小男孩兴奋极了，双手捧着石头就回到了孤儿院，把这一切都讲给院长听。
院长看了看小男孩，慢条斯理地说：“生命的价值就像这石头，环境不同，价值便不尽相同。”
-orphanage [ˈɔːfənɪdʒ] n. 孤儿院
-squat [skwɒt] v. 蹲
-hawk [hɔːk] v. 通过叫卖主动兜售(货物)
“As long as you think highly of yourself, self-value and self-love, your life will be meaningful and valuable.”(只要你看重自己，自珍自爱，生命就有意义和价值。)