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Once upon a time, there was an island inhabited1 by: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all the rest of it, including Love. One day word got around that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out2 until the last possible moment. When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.” Love decided to ask Vanity3 who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel4. “Vanity, please help me!” “I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat,” Vanity answered. Sadness was close by so Love asked, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh... Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!” Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her. Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come, Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who helped me?” “It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.” 注释： 1. inhabit [in5hAbit] vt. 居住于 2. hold out 抵抗，坚持，不退让 3. vanity [5vAniti]] n. 虚荣（心），虚夸 4. vessel [5vesl]] n. 船，舰
时间与爱
从前，在一个岛上居住着幸福、悲伤、学识，还有其他等等一切，包括爱。有一天，有消息说这座岛要沉入海底，于是，大伙儿纷纷造船离去。但是爱稳坐钓鱼台，不为所动。
爱是惟一留下的。爱想留守到最后一刻。
当岛屿几乎沉入海中时，爱决定寻求帮助。
财富乘一艘豪华游艇正从爱的身旁驶过。爱说：“财富，你能把我带上吗？”
财富回答：“不行，不行。我的船上有好多的金银财宝，没你的地方。”
爱决定问问虚荣，她正乘一只漂亮的船儿驶过。“虚荣，请帮帮我！”
“爱，我不能帮助你。你全身湿透了，会把我的船弄脏的，”虚荣回答。
悲伤也在附近，爱请求：“悲伤，让我跟你一起走吧。”
“喔……爱，我太伤心了，我要一个人单独呆着！”
幸福也正好从爱身旁经过，但是她太高兴了，甚至没有听见爱在叫她。
忽然，爱听到一个声音：“来，爱，我带你走。”说话的是一位长者。爱感到自己真的是太幸运了，她万分欣喜，甚至忘了问长者他们要去哪里。当他们抵达陆地之后，长者独自离去。
爱意识到自己太欠那位长者的情了，于是她问另一位长者学识：“是谁帮了我？”
“是时间，”学识告诉爱。
“时间？”爱问，“但是时间为什么帮我？”
学识露出充满睿智的笑容，答道：“因为只有时间才能够理解爱的价值。” | 
发表于 2008-3-13 19:35
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