The Five Boons of Life

In the morning of life came a good fairy with her basket,and said:"Here are gifts. Take one, leave the others,And be wary,choose wisely!For only one of them is valuable."

The gifts were five :Fame, Love ,Riches,Pleasure,Death.The youth,said,eagerly:"There is no need to consider";and he chose Pleasure.

He went out into the world and sought out the pleasures that youth delights in . But each in its turn was short-liyed and disappointing,vain and empty;and each,departing,mocked him .In the end he said:"These years i have wasted.If i could but choose again, I would choose wisely."

在生命之初，一位仙女带着篮子走来，对一位年轻人说道："这里有几份礼物，你可以从中选一份，留下其它的.你要小心，做一个明智的选择;啊，你要明智地进行选择!因为这里面只有一份礼物是珍贵的."

一共有五份礼物：名声，爱情，财富，快乐，还有死亡.年轻人迫不及待地说："没有必要多想."他选了快乐.

此后他就开始步入世界，追逐年轻人所喜爱的快乐.然而每一种快乐都是如此短暂，令人感到空虚和失望.每当一种快乐弃他而去时，还要把他嘲弄一番.最后，年轻人感叹道"这些年我都浪费了.如果我可以再选一次，我一定会做一个明智的选择."

2

The fairy appeared,and said:"Four of the gifts remain.choose once more:and oh,remember--time is flying,and only one of them is precious."

The man considered long,then chose Love;and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy's eyes.

After many,many years the man sat by a coffin,in an empty home.And he communed with himself,saying:"One by one they have gone away and leftme;and now she lies here,the dearest and the last.Desolation after desolation has swept over me;but each hour of happiness the treacherous trader,Love,sold me i have paid a thousand hours ofo grief!Out of my heart of hearts i curse him!"

这时仙女又出现了，她说："这里还有四份礼物.再选一次吧.噢，记住时间飞逝，而其中只有一件是珍贵的."

他思考了很久，最终选择了爱情;他没有注意到仙女眼里泛起的泪光.许多许多年之后，这个人坐在一口棺材旁边，屋子里空荡荡的.他自言自语道："他们一个一个地走了，只剩下我.现在，她就躺在这儿，我最亲爱的人儿，我最后的亲人.孤独一次又一次把我包围.都是因为爱情这个阴狡诈的商人，他出售给我的每个甜蜜的小时，我现在都要用数千个小时的悲伤来偿还!我从心底里诅咒他!"

3

"Choose again."It was the fairy speaking."The years have you wisdow-surely it must be so.There gifts remain.Only one of them has anyworth-remember it ,and choose warily."

The man reflected long,then chose Fame;and the fairy,sighing,went her way.

Years went by and she came again,and stood behind the man where he sat solitary in the fading day,thinking.And she knew his thought:"My name filled the world,and its praiss were on every tongue,and it seemed well with me for a littlewhile.How little a while it was!Then came envy;then detraction;then hate;then persecution.Then derision,which is the begining of the end.And last of all came pity,which is the funeral of fame.Oh ,the bitterness and misery of renown!"

"你在选一次吧."仙女又一次说话了.

"这些年已经教予你智慧--也理当如此.这里还有三份礼物，其中只有一份是有价值的--切记，你好好挑吧."

他想了很久，然而选择了名声.仙女叹了口气，径自离开了.岁月流转，仙女又回来了，站到他的身旁.已迈入迟暮之年的他孑然一身，心情重重.他在想些什么，她都了然于心.

"我的名字传遍世界，每个人都争相赞颂，有一阵子好像让我心满足.可那是多么短暂的一阵子啊!随之而来的是妒忌;然后是诋毁;然后是憎恶;然后是迫害.之后是嘲讽，从些一切开始步入完结.最后便是怜悯，这也是我的名声的葬礼.啊，名声原来是这般苦涩和痛苦!"

4

"Choose yet again."It was the fairy's voice. "Two gifts remain.And do not despair .In the begining there was but one that was precious,and it is still here.

"Wealth-which is power!How blind i was!"said the man."Now,at last,life will be worth the living.I will spend.squander.These mockers and despisers will crawl in the dirt before me,and i will feed my hungry heart with their envy,I will have all luxuries,all joys,all enchant-times of the spirit I will buy,buy,buy!I have lost much time,and chosen badly heretofore,but let that pass;I was ignorant then,and could but take for best what seemed so."

Three short years went by,and a day came when the man sat shivering in a mean garret;and he was gaunt and wan and hollow-eyed,and clothed in rags;and he was gnawing a dry crust and mumbling:"Curse all the world's gifts for mockeries and gilded lies!And miscalled,every one,They are not gifts,but merely lendings.Pleasure.Love,Fame.Riches:they are but temporary disguises for lasting realities-Pain,Grief,Shame,Poverty.The fairy said true;in all her store there was but one gift which was precious,only one that was not valueless,How poor and cheap and mean i know those others now to be,Bring it!I am weary.I would rest."

"不过你还可以重新现挑一次."仙女的声音再度响起.

"还剩下两份礼物.不要灰心丧气，从一开始就只有一份是宝贵的，而现在它还在那里啊."

"财富--财富就是力量!我过去多盲目啊!"他说."现在，终于，我的生命将要变得有意义.我要纵情欢度此生，我要挥霍我的人生.那些对我冷嘲热讽，轻蔑诋毁我的人将要在我面前的泥土里挣扎，而我空乏的心也将因为他们的妒忌而得到满足.我将要享尽荣华富贵，所有欢乐和所有销魂的时光.我要买，买!以前我做错了选择，失去了许多时间，就让它过去吧;当时我很无知，我只能选我觉得最好的东西.

短短的三年又过去了.到了这么一天，这个人蜷缩在一个简陋的小阁楼里，古瘦如柴，苍白无力，双眼深陷，身上裹着碎布衣衫，浑身颤抖不停.他一边啃着一块干面包皮，一边咕哝着："该死的礼物，都是为了让我受人嘲笑和欺诈!每一样都叫错了!它们都不是礼物，根本只是租借品!快乐，爱情，名声还有财富-都只不过是长久现实的暂时伪装-它们其实是永远的痛苦，悲哀，耻辱和贫穷!那个仙女说的没错啊，她所有的东西里只有一样是珍贵的，只有那么一样不是毫无价值的.我现在才明白，其它礼物是多么低贱与卑劣!把它带来吧-那真正宝贵的礼物!我累了，我想休息了.

5

The fairy came,bringing again four of the gifts,but Death was wanting.She said:"I gave it to a mother's pet, a little child.It was ignorant,but trusted me,asking me to choose for it.You did not ask me to choose."

"Oh,miserable me!What is left for me ?"

"What not even you have deserved:the wantoninsult of Old Age."

仙女出现了，带着以前的那四件礼物，但惟独没有最后那一件-死亡.她说道："我把它给了一位母亲的宠儿子：一个小孩子.他什么也不懂，但他相信我，让我来帮他挑选.而你并没有这么做."

"啊，我多可悲啊!那还剩下什么给我呢?"

"一件你也不配得到的东西：接受年老体衰的折磨.