英语故事:只有时间了解爱的价值

 Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all the others, including Love. One day it was announced to all of the feelings that the island was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean. So all the feelings prepared their boats to leave . 

从前有一个岛，所有的情感都住在那里：幸福、悲伤、知识和所有其它的，爱也不例外。一天，所有的情感听说小岛即将沉没，因此建造小船，纷纷离开，除了爱。

Love was the only one that stayed. She wanted to preserve the island paradise¹ until the last possible moment. When the island was almost totally under, love decided² it was time to leave. She began looking for someone to ask for help. 

爱是唯一留下来的，因为它希望能坚持到最后一刻。小岛即将沉没了，爱决定请求帮助。

Just then Richness was passing by in a grand boat. Love asked, "Richness, can I come with you on your boat?" Richness answered, "I'm sorry, but there is a lot of silver and gold on my boat and there would be no room for you anywhere." 

富有驾着一艘大船从爱身边经过，爱说，“富有，你能带上我么？”富有回答说：“不行，我的船上载满金银财宝，没有你的地方。”

Then Love decided to ask Vanity³ for help who was passing by in a beautiful vessel⁴. Love cried out, "Vanity, help me please!" "I can't help you," Vanity said, "You are all wet and will damage my beautiful boat." 

虚荣坐在漂亮的小船中从爱身边驶过，爱问：“虚荣，你能帮助我么？”虚荣说：“不行，你全身湿透，会弄脏我的船。”

Next, Love saw Sadness passing by. Love said, "Sadness, please let me go with you." Sadness answered, "Love, I'm sorry, but, I just need to be alone now." 

悲伤的船靠近了，爱问：“悲伤，请带我走吧。”“哦……爱，我太难过了，想一个人呆着。”

Then, Love saw Happiness. Love cried out, "Happiness, please take me with you." But Happiness was so overjoyed that he didn't hear Love calling to him. 

幸福经过爱的身边，它太开心了，根本没听见爱在呼唤。

Love began to cry. Then, she heard a voice say, "Come Love, I will take you with me." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed1 and overjoyed that she forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived on land the elder went on his way. Love realized how much she owed the elder. 

突然，一个声音喊道：“来，爱，我带你走。” 声音来自“年老”。爱太高兴了，甚至忘了问他们即将去何方。当他们来到岸上，年老自己离开了。爱突然意识到“年老”给了它多大的帮助。

Love then found Knowledge and asked, "Who was it that helped me?" "It was Time,' Knowledge answered. "But why did Time help me when no one else would? "Love asked. Knowledge smiled and with deep wisdom and sincerity⁵, answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is. 

于是，爱问另一位老者——知识：“谁帮助了我？”知识说：“是时间。”“时间？”爱问：“但是时间为什么帮助我？”知识睿智地微笑道：“因为只有时间了解爱的价值。”

1 paradise   

n.伊甸乐园，天堂

参考例句：

• My house had a small backyard,the paradise of children.我那幢房子有一个小后院，那是孩子们玩耍的乐园。
• On a hot day a dip in the sea is sheer paradise.热天洗个海水澡是十分令人惬意的事。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 vanity   

n.虚荣心，浮华，无价值的东西；adj.虚荣心的

参考例句：

• A man's vanity is actually in proportion to his ignorance.一个人的虚荣心实际上是和他的愚蠢程度成正比。
• Vanity and virtue do not go together.虚荣与美德不是共生物。

4 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。