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从前一位老商人有三个儿子。 “我要把自己的财产留给谁呢？”他想。“一定是最聪明的那个儿子。可是,谁最聪明呢？” 他把三个儿子叫到身边，对他们说：“这里有一些钱，你们必须各自拿一枚硬币去买一件东西，这件东西要充满整个房间。谁能做到这一点，谁就可以拥有我的财产=” “那可是一个大房间，”大儿子说。 “一枚硬币买不了多少东西，”二儿子说。 但是,最小的儿子什么也没说。他想了一会儿,然后微微一笑说：“哥哥们，咱们去市场吧。” 大儿子用他那枚硬币买了稻草，但一枚硬币只能买一点稻草。尽管他尽可能多地将稻草铺开，那些稻草只盖住了房间的一个角。 二儿子用他那枚硬币买了沙子。但是，一枚硬币只能买一点沙子。当他把沙子撒开时，沙子只铺了一半地板。 “你买了什么东西？”两个年长的儿子生气地问最小的儿子“你既没有买稻草也没有买沙子。” “我买的是这个，”最小的儿子说。 “蜡烛！”两个哥哥大声叫道。“错烛有什么用？” “看，”最小的儿子说。 他点燃蜡烛，房间里马上充满了光明！ “尽管你年龄最小，但你的确是我最聪明的儿子，”老商人说。 Candlelight Wisdom Once upon a time, there was an old merchant who had three sons. “To whom shall I leave my fortune?” he wondered. “It must be the cleverest son. But which one is the cleverest?” He called his three sons to him. “Here is some money,” he told them. “You must each take one coin to buy something that will fill this room. The one who can do this shall have my fortune." “It is a big room,” said the eldest son. “One coin will not buy very much,” said the second son. But the youngest son said nothing. He thought a while, and then he smiled. “Come，brothers，，，he said. “Let us go to the market.” The eldest son bought straw with his coin. But one coin bought only a bit of straw. Even when he had spread it as much as he could, the straw covered only a corner of the room. The second son bought sand with his coin. But one coin bought only a bit of sand. Even when he had spread it as he could, the sand covered only half of the floor. "What did you buy?” the elder sons angrily asked the youngest. “You don't have any straw or any sand.” “I bought this,” said the youngest son. "A candle!” cried the brothers. “What good is a candle?” “Watch，” said the youngest son. He lit the candle, and all at once the room was filled with light! “Although you are the youngest, you are indeed the cleverest of my sons,” the old merchant said. |
