Treasure in the Field

Retold By Marilyn Bolchunos

Once there was an old man who lived with his two young sons on a farm in Vietnam. The mother of the boys had died. Since the old man had to tend① the field， the boys took care of the house. That is， they were supposed to take care of the house， but they were lazy.

Often the father returned home to find that nothing had been done—he even had to cook dinner.

“What have you been doing all day， Ta？” he would ask his older son.

“Studying， Father， and thinking，” Ta would reply.

“And what have you been doing， Hai， my young son？” the father would ask.

“Watching the house for you，” Hai would answer.

A neighbour asked the old man， “Are your sons helping you？”

“Oh， they would，” the father answered， “but they are young， and they miss their mother.”

Some years later， the neighbour asked， “Arent your sons helping you in the field？”

“Oh， they would，” the father replied again， “but they are still young. I will let them enjoy life now. They will help me later on.”

As the years went by， it became clear even to their father that the boys were lazy. Though they sometimes tended the field with him， they always made excuses to go home early.

Finally the father grew too old to work， and he took to his bed. The sons were sad， for they not only depended② on their father， but they also loved him.

One day the old man called Ta and Hai to his side and said weakly， “I have a secret to tell you， my sons. Bend③ close.”

Hai and Ta leaned④ over to hear the secret.

“Before your mother died，” the old man siad， “we learned that there is treasure buried in the field. Its still there， but you must dig⑤ for it.”

The sons eyes widened.

“Treasure in the field？” Ta said.

“Where？” asked Hai.

“Dig for it， and you will find it，” said their father.“But promise me that you will share it equally.”

The sons promised and hurried out to begin. Day after day they dug. Their neighbour was surprised to see how long and hard the young men worked. As for Ta and Hai， they felt stronger and better than ever before.

At last， the whole field had been dug（dig的過去式）， but no treasure had been found. The brothers were sad.

Finally an idea came to Ta.“The land is ready for planting，” he said to his brother.“And our rice is almost gone. You take one half of the field， and Ill take the other. Well tend it just as Father did.”

The days passed and the seedlings grew. In Autumn， the field gave an abundant harvest. There was rice to eat and rice to see.

When the sons took the rice to the market， it brought a good price.

Excited， Ta and Hai ran back to the house and went to their fathers bedside. They put coins into the old mans hands.

“Look， Father，” said Hai. “We have sold rice and brought you gold！”

“Yes，” said Ta. “Just as you said， the treasure was in the field.”

The old man smiled. They had learned his secret.

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【編后語】 這是一則古老的故事，可能你曾經讀過它的中文版，但你能理解其中的寓意嗎？收獲必然來自辛勤的耕耘，在羨慕別人成就的同時，你有沒有反思自己可曾同樣付出？