提要

語出《老子》 〈儉欲第四十六〉的句子：「禍莫大於不知足，咎莫大於欲得，故知足之足常足矣。」

換言之：知道滿足，就總是快樂—「知足常樂」，珍惜眼前所擁有的，就是「惜福」。

Once upon a time, there were three brothers named Sam, Tim and Alan, who lived in a cottage by the woods.

They were honest and hardworking. Every day, they would venture into the forest to fell wood. Later, they would sell it in the market where it would fetch a decent price. Thus, their life continued in this manner.

However, the brothers were always sad and morose. Even though they lived a good life, they were unhappy. Each one hankered for something or the other and would pine for it.

One day, while Sam, Tim and Alan were returning home from the woods carrying their bundle of logs, they saw an old haggard woman bent low with a sack on her back. As they were kind and compassionate, the brothers immediately approached the poor woman and offered to carry the sack all the way to her home.

She smiled and expressed her gratefulness, while replying that the sack actually contained apples that she had collected in the forest. Sam, Tim and Alan took turns in carrying the sack, and at last, when they reached the woman’s home, they were very tired indeed.

Now, this old woman was no ordinary person and had magical powers. Pleased with the brothers' kind and selfless nature, she asked them whether there was anything she could help them with, as a reward.

"We are not happy, and that has become our greatest cause of concern," replied Sam. The woman asked what would make them happy. Each brother spoke of a different thing that would please him.

"A splendid mansion with plenty of servants would make me happy. There is nothing more that I would want," said Sam.

"A big farm with lots of harvest would make me happy. Then I could be rich without having to worry," said Tim.

"A beautiful wife would make me happy. Every day, after returning home, her sweet little face would light me up and make me forget my sorrows," said Alan.

"That is fine," said the old woman, "If these things will give you happiness, you deserve them in every respect for helping a poor helpless person like me. Go home, and each of you shall find exactly what you have wished for."

This took the brothers by surprise as they did not know about the woman's powers. Nevertheless, they took leave and returned home. But lo behold, beside their cottage, there was a huge mansion with a doorman and other servants waiting outside! They greeted Sam and ushered him in.

At some distance, a yellow farmland showed itself. A ploughman came and announced that it belonged to Tim. Tim gasped.

Just at that moment, a beautiful maiden approached Alan and coyly said that she was his wife. The brothers were beside themselves with joy at this new turn of events. They thanked their lucky stars and adapted to their new lifestyles.

The days passed and soon a year was over. The situation was however, now different for Sam, Tim and Alan. Sam had grown tired of owning the mansion. He became lazy and did not supervise his servants into taking proper care of the mansion. Tim, who had built a decent house next to his farmland, found it burdensome to plough the fields and sow seeds from time to time. Alan too, grew used to his beautiful wife and no longer found any joy in keeping her company. In short, all of them were unhappy again.

One day, the three of them met up and decided to visit the old woman at her home. "That woman has magical powers which turned our dreams into reality. However, since we are no longer happy, we must go and seek her help now. It is she who will be able to tell us the secret to attaining happiness," said Sam.

When they came to the old woman, she was cooking stew in a pot. Greeting her, each of the brothers recounted how he had turned unhappy again. "Please tell us how we can once more be happy," said Tim.

"Well," replied the old woman. "It is all in your own hands. See, when each of you made his wish and it was granted, you were happy. However, happiness never lasts without a very important thing—content. Earlier, since you were happy but never really content or satisfied, boredom and misery overcame you and you became sad again. Only if you learn to be content, can you truly enjoy the bliss of happiness."

Sam, Tim and Alan realized their mistake and went back home. They saw how lucky they were to have the gifts for which they had once craved. Sam felt grateful for being the owner of a mansion and began taking good care of it. Tim began to plough his land diligently so as to have a good harvest in time. Alan too learnt to appreciate his pretty wife’s chores in the house and her devotion towards him.

The happiness and content went side by side, never again did the brothers take their blessings for granted. And thus, they lived happily ever after.

解說

從前，有三個名叫山繆、提姆和阿倫的兄弟，住在樹林的小屋裡。

他們三個誠實又勤奮。他們每天都會冒險進入森林伐木。然後到市場換取合理的價格銷售。他們日復一日地過著這種生活。

然而，三兄弟總是悲傷憂鬱，即使過著好日子，他們仍不快樂。每個人都渴望某事……然後因得不到而憔悴。

有一天，當山繆、提姆和阿倫帶著木材回家時，他們看到一個形容枯槁的老婦人，讓背上的袋子壓彎了腰，善良又富同情心的兄弟，立即靠近可憐的老婦，表示願意扛這個袋子一路送回她的家。

她微笑著表示感激，同時表示，這個袋子裡是她在森林裡採集的蘋果。山繆、提姆和阿倫輪流扛著沉甸甸的袋子，終於到達老嫗的家，他們可是非常地累了。

並非等閒的老婦擁有神奇的力量。她很喜歡三兄弟善良無私的特質，於是他們是否有什麼需求，她可以幫他們實現作為獎勵。

「我們不快樂，這已經成為我們最在意的事了。」山繆回答。老婦問怎麼才能讓他們開心？兄弟們各自提到能讓自己快樂的事。

「有大量僕傭的豪宅會讓我高興，沒有什麼比這個讓我更想要的了。」山繆說。

「一個堆滿莊稼收成的大農場會讓我高興。然後我就富有的啥都不用擔心了。」提姆說。

「一個美麗的妻子會讓我高興。每天回到家後，她甜美的小臉會照亮我的人生，讓我忘記憂慮。」阿倫說。

「那很好。」老婦人說，「如果這些會給你們帶來快樂，那幫助一個像我這樣無助窮人的你們，無論如何都應得這些。」「你們每個人回家 都會發現你想要的。」

兄弟們完全沒想到老婦人的能耐。他們告辭回家後……「等一下！」在他們的小屋旁邊，有一個巨大的豪宅，門房和其他僕人在外面列隊等待，他們向山繆問候，迎接他進屋。

又過了一段距離，一個黃色的農莊出現了，一個農人跑過來，宣布它屬於提姆。提姆驚訝地倒抽了一口氣。

就在那一刻，一個美麗的少女走近阿倫，羞怯地說，她是他的妻子。面對這接二連三的新事件，兄弟們欣喜若狂。他們感謝幸運星，立即適應這新的生活方式。

日子很快地過了一年。然而，現在的情況對山繆、提姆和阿倫來說，沒什麼不同。山繆厭倦了擁有豪宅，他變得懶惰，不想監督他的僕人也不照顧豪宅；提姆在他的農田旁邊建了一個體面的房子，卻發現它耕種、播種負擔繁重； 阿倫也對他美麗的妻子習以為常，與她相處也沒有喜悅。總之，他們都再度不快樂了。

有一天，他們三人聚首，決定到老婦家探望。「那個女人有神奇的力量，能把我們的夢想實現。但是，由於我們不再快樂，我們必須求她幫助。請她告訴我們獲得快樂的秘密。」山繆說。

當他們找到老婦人，她正在鍋裡燉煮。兄弟們重述自己的現況：「請告訴我們，怎麼能再次快樂？」提姆說。

「這個嘛，」老婦人回答，這都掌握在你們自己的手中。瞧，當你們每個人都說了自己的願望，並且實現了，你們是快樂的；然而，快樂絕對不會持續，除非有一個非常重要的條件──「知足」。之前因為你你們很快樂，但一直沒有真正滿足，於是無聊和苦悶又凌駕了感覺，你們又變得悲傷。只有學會知足，才能享受真正的幸福快樂。

曉得毛病出在哪裡之後，山繆、提姆和阿倫回家了。他們看到自己有幸得到曾經渴望的禮物。山繆感激能有一座豪宅，開始好好照顧它；提姆開始耕耘農地，以便有一個好的收成；阿倫也學會了欣賞他漂亮妻子的辛勤家務以及她對他的付出。

快樂和知足是並存的，兄弟們再也沒有把他們的幸福當成理所當然。也因此開始過著幸福的生活。

WOW!原來如此

morose

「morose」是脾氣陰鬱、孤僻的，例如：

The old lady was in a very ill humour, very morose.（那位老婦人總是愁眉苦臉，很難取悅。）

Richardson sat, morose as usual, at the chimney-corner.（理查森像往常一樣，憂愁地坐在壁爐那個角落。）

What’s she got to be so morose about?（她這麼乖僻究竟是為了什麼？）

in every respect

「respect」意思是「尊敬」；但「in every respect」裡的「respect」意思是「方面、著眼點」，例如：

The plan is faulty in every respect. （這項計畫無論從哪個方面來看都不完備。）

I think you are wrong in every respect. （從各方面來看，我都覺得你錯了。）

I feel I’m distanced by him in every respect.（我感到自己在各方面都趕不上他。）

beside themselves

「beside」是在一旁，「beside themselves」是形容情緒激動得幾乎無法克制自己了，「.....with joy」就是狂喜；「.....with fear」就是害怕，例如：

The idea of it put them beside themselves.（這個想法讓他們樂得快發狂了。）

The children were beside themselves with fear.（孩子們害怕得手足無措。）

They were beside themselves with joy after they had beaten the rival team.（打敗了對手之後，他們欣喜若狂。）