A young painter resided in a small narrow house, living on painting portraits before he became famous.
One day, a rich man came by and found the painter painting so meticulously that he liked it and asked him to draw a portrait. They agreed on the remuneration of 10,000 dollars.
After a week, the portrait was done. The rich man came to take the painting as agreed on. At this moment, the rich man hit on an evil idea of bullying the unknown young artist, so he refused to pay the remuneration.
The rich man thought, “The man in the painting is me. If I don't buy this painting, on one will buy it. Why should I pay so much money for it?” So the rich man said, “I will only pay 3,000 dollars to buy this painting.”
The young artist was stunned, for he had never come across such things. He strongly argued on just grounds, expecting the rich man to abide by the agreement and to be a trustworthy man.
“I can only pay 3,000 dollars to buy the painting. Speak no more.” The rich man thought he had won, “I ask you at last, will you sell it for 3,000 dollars or not?”
The young artist knew the rich man deliberately went back on his word, so he felt indignant . He said in a firm tone, “No. I would prefer not to sell the painting rather than to be humiliated by you. Today you break your words and someday you must pay 20 times.”
“What a joke! 20 times will be 200,000! I won't be stupid to pay 200,000 dollars to buy the painting!”
“Well, we'd better wait and see,” the young artist said to the rich man who left angrily.
After the stimulation of such an incident, the painter moved out of this sad place, and anew formally acknowledged teachers to work hard night and day.
More than a dozen years later, he finally blazed a new way and became popular in the circle of art.
After he left the studio, the rich man had forgotten the artist's painting and words the next day. Until one day, some friends of the rich man simultaneously came to tell him, “Something is so strange! We paid a visit to a famous artist's exhibition of paintings, in which one painting is marked 200,000 dollars and the man in the painting looks exactly the same as you. It is so ridiculous that the title of the painting is Thief .”
It came to him a terrible blow that he immediately thought of what had happened to the painter more than a dozen years before. If the painting were really the one he broke his promise that year, it would be terrible to him. He went to find the young painter the same night right away. As expected, the painting titled as Thief was no other than that one he had broken his word that year. He quickly apologized to the artist and paid 200,000 dollars to buy back the portrait.
With an undefeated ambition, the young painter made the rich man bend his head. This young man was Pablo Picasso.
一位年轻的画家住在一幢狭小的房子里，成名前以画肖像为生。
有一天，来了一个有钱人，他看到画家作画认真细致，大为赞赏，就请画家为自己画一幅肖像，说好了酬金是10 000美元。
一个星期以后，肖像画好了。有钱人如约来取画。他看年轻人尚未扬名立万，突然想到一个坏主意，便耍赖拒付酬金。
有钱人想着：“画里的人是我。我不买的话，没人会买。那我干吗付那么多钱呢？”于是，他说：“我只能给你3 000美元。”
年轻的艺术家惊呆了，他从来没碰到过这样的事儿。他站在公平的立场上苦口婆心地讲道理，希望有钱人能够遵守约定，做一个讲信用的人。
“我只能出3 000美元买这幅画。什么也别说了。”有钱人觉得自己赢定了，“我最后问你一遍，3 000美元，你卖是不卖？”
年轻画家知道有钱人是故意反悔，感到愤愤不平。他语气坚定地说：“不行。这画我宁愿不卖，也不受你这般侮辱。今天你出尔反尔，总有一天，你得出20倍的价钱来买我的画。”
“笑话！20倍可就是200 000啦！你觉得我会蠢到花200 000买你的画？”
“好，我们等着瞧。”年轻艺术家说。有钱人就愤怒地离开了。
画家被这件事儿刺激了，搬出了这个让人伤心的地方，重新开始。他正儿八经地拜师学艺，日夜苦练技艺。
十多年以后，他终于另辟蹊径，扬名艺术圈。
那位有钱人当年走出艺术家画室的时候，第二天就把那幅肖像和自己说过的话忘了个干干净净。直到有一天，他的朋友们不约而同地跑来告诉他：“真是奇了怪了！我们去参观一位著名画家的画展，其中一幅画标价200 000美元，画里的人跟你一模一样。更滑稽的是那幅画名叫《贼》。”
有钱人感觉被重重一击，这才想起了十多年前他对画家的所作所为。要是这幅画当真是那年自己食言耍赖、拒付酬金的那一幅，可就糟了。当晚他立刻就跑去找画家。不出所料，题为《贼》的那幅画就是他当年食言的那幅。他赶紧道歉，付200 000美元把肖像画买了回来。
凭着永不言败的斗志，画家让有钱人低下了头。这位年轻人就是巴勃罗·毕加索。
-indignant [ɪnˈdɪɡnənt] adj. 愤怒的
blaze a new way 开辟新道路
西班牙画家、雕塑家巴勃罗·毕加索(Pablo Picasso，1881—1973)是西方现代派绘画的主要代表、现代艺术的创始人。毕加索一生致力于绘画革新，擅用极端变形和夸张的艺术手法，崇尚立体主义。其代表作《亚威农少女》是公认的第一张有立体主义倾向的作品，它不仅标志着毕加索个人艺术历程中的重大转折，也是西方现代艺术史上的一次革命性突破，引发了立体主义运动的诞生。