內心的禮物

Michael Josephson

According to legend， while roaming （漫步） the desert a young man came across a spring （泉） of delicious crystal clear water. The water was so sweet that he filled his leather （皮革） bottle so he could bring some back to an elder who had been his teacher. After a four day journey， he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink， smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later， the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat （吐） it out， saying it was terrible. It was clear that the water was no longer fresh because of the old leather bottle. The student challenged his teacher， “Master， the water smelled bad. Why did you pretend （假裝） to like it？”

The teacher replied， “You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was an act of loving kindness and nothing could be sweeter.”

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whatever it is， the natural and proper response is gratitude and thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn t always come natu rally. Unfortunately， most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity （純潔） of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all， gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

What does the text try to express？