佚名/Anonymous
A successful businessman, addressing the commercial club of his city, told a story in his after-dinner speech. It was the story of a boy named Jim, who was an orphan and the laughing stock of the whole town. He was twelve years old, slim and undersized. He never remembered having a kind word spoken to him in his whole life. He was accustomed to harsh words, suspicion and rebuffs, and as a result became a shrinking, pitiful little figure, dodging people. And the more he dodged people, the more suspicious he became.
The only earthly possession of which Jim could boast was a dog that cringed and shrank almost as much as his master and was as much hated. Jim was not cruel to his dog except in words—and that is really the worst form of cruelty, even to a dog. A harsh, unkind word can cause more misery, heartache, and anguish than actual physical cruelty. A cruel, unkind tongue cuts like a sword.
One day as Jim walked down the street, he saw a bundle slip from the overloaded arms of a little lady just in front of him. As she stooped to pick it up, the others rolled down. Jim sprang to her assistance, gathering up the bundles and replacing them in her arms.“Thank you, dear, you are a nice little boy.”she said kindly, and went on her way after giving him a bright smile.
Jim was amazed, a queer choky feeling passed over him. These were the first kind words he had ever heard in his whole twelve years of existence. He stood and stared after her. He knew that she was the busy little dressmaker who lived in a small cottage on the out skirts of town. He watched her until she was out of sight, then he whistled to Tige and made straight for the woods and a stream that wound around the town.
He sat down on the bank of the stream and did some thinking.“Thank you, dear, you are a nice little boy.”he pondered.
“Come here, Tige.”he commanded, and Tige slunk to his feet. Then Jim lowered his voice in imitation of the little faded lady and said,“You are a nice little dog.”The effect on Tige was electrical. He pricked up his ears, and if a dog could stand at attention, Tige did.
“Unum! Even a dog likes it,”said Jim,“Well, Tige, I don’t blame you, it is nice. I won’t holler at you anymore.”Tige wagged his tail joyously.
The boy continued to think, and the dog sat and watched him. Finally the boy pulled from the odds and ends in his pockets a piece of broken mirror and looked at himself. He saw nothing but grime and dirt, the accumulation of many days. He went down to the water’s edge and scrubbed it off carefully, almost painfully. Then he looked again. He scarcely recognized himself. He was surprised. He stood erect and looked up instead of down for the first time since he could remember. He distinctly liked the sensation. A feeling of self-respect awoke him. Ambition sprang full-grown into life. At that moment the course of his life was changed, a determination to be worthy of the kind words spoken to him by the little dressmaker, and to pass them on, took possession of his soul.
After telling this story of Jim, the orphan boy, the speaker paused, and then he electrified the audience by saying,“Gentlemen, I was that boy. This city—your city, my city—was that little town of forty years ago. Our plant stands upon the spot where that gentle woman stood when she implanted in my life the first seed of kindness. She sleeps out yonder in what was then the cemetery of a country church. As a tribute to her memory I have told you this story.”
Oh, all of us would learn the lesson,“Be kind.”—what transforming power it has!
在一个城市的商贸俱乐部里，一个成功的商人在餐后演讲中讲了这样一个故事。故事讲的是一个叫吉姆的小男孩。他是个孤儿，全镇人都嘲笑他。12岁的他矮小瘦弱。记忆中，在他的整个生命里都从未听到过一句对自己友善的话，他也早已习惯了这些刺耳的话语、无端的猜疑和冰冷的回绝，他因此成了一个畏畏缩缩、躲躲闪闪的可怜虫。可是，他越躲着人们，就越令人觉得可疑。
也许在这个地球上，吉姆唯一拥有的就是一条和他一样胆小畏缩、遭人唾弃的小狗蒂格。除了言语方面，他对蒂格并不刻薄，可就算是一条狗这也够残忍了。一句粗鲁残忍、刻薄无情的话就像利剑般伤人，比起肉体上的残忍，它会造成更深的伤痕。
有一天，吉姆走在街上时，看到前面一位女士的包滑落了。娇小的她双手还抱着很多东西，于是当她弯腰拾时，其他包也掉了一地。吉姆赶紧帮忙拾起包，并放到女士的手中。“亲爱的，谢谢你，你真是个好孩子。”她亲切地说完这些话，给了吉姆一个灿烂的微笑，然后转身离去。
一种窒息的感觉直逼吉姆，他一下子惊呆了。十二年来这是他听到的最亲切的话。他认识她，她是个非常忙碌的小裁缝，就住在村外的小房子里。他站在那儿，愣愣地望着她远去的背影，直到在视线中消失。然后他向蒂格吹了声口哨，便直奔围绕村子的树林和小溪边去了。
“亲爱的，谢谢你，你真是个好孩子。”他坐在溪边，开始琢磨着这句话。
他命令道：“过来，蒂格。”于是，蒂格灰溜溜地跑了过来。然后，他压低声音，学着那位女士的话说：“你是只好狗。”听到这句话，蒂格的反应简直像被闪电击中一般。只见它竖起了耳朵，如果狗也能立正的话，蒂格的姿势就是十分标准的。
“啊！连狗都这么喜欢，”吉姆说，“这样多好，蒂格，我不骂你了，也不会再对你大吼大叫了。”听到这些，蒂格开心地摇起了尾巴。
蒂格在他旁边坐了下来，望着他，男孩又陷入了沉思。终于，他翻出口袋，从零碎的东西中找到一面破镜子，照了照自己，镜中的他满身污垢。于是，他到水边，仔细地用力清洗掉那些污垢。然后又照了照镜子，这一次，他简直快认不出自己了。令他惊奇的是，自己站直了，而且平生第一次抬起了头，昂首挺胸。这种感觉显然让他很喜欢。他也开始被一种强烈的自尊心唤醒，顿时充满了雄心壮志。就在这一刻，他的人生彻底改变了，一种决心占据了他的灵魂，那就是要让小裁缝的话有所价值，并且将它传承下去。
讲完这个孤儿的故事，演讲者停顿了一下，而他下面的话让观众更为吃惊：“先生们，你我现在所在的这个城市正是四十年前的那个小镇，而我就是那个孤儿。那位女士当年在我心中播下的善良的种子，如今已长成了参天大树。而今，她已长眠在乡村教堂的公墓里。我给大家讲这个故事，是为了纪念她，也为了表达我的敬意。”
哦，我们所有人都应学习这一课：“友爱”——它改变的力量是多么的神奇啊！
心灵小语
一句充满善意的话语，可能带给别人的是无限的力量，甚至改变一个人的人生；而一句刺耳的话带来的只能是伤害与毁灭。当我们开口之前，应该仔细思量。
commercial adj.贸易的；商务的；与商业有关的
例 New York is a big commercial city.
纽约是一座很大的商业城市。
undersized adj.小于一般尺寸的；小型的；比较矮小的
例 Due to long hours of hard work and insufficient food and care, Iqbal was undersized.
由于长时间的重活和缺少足够的食物与照顾，伊克巴尔比普通孩子矮小。
existence n.存在；生存；（尤指在逆境中的）生活
例 I know the taste of happy, all because of your existence.
我知道幸福的滋味，一切因有你的存在。
audience n.听众；观众
例 His speech won the applause of the audience.
他的讲话赢得了听众的掌声。
记忆中，在他的整个生命里都从未听到过一句对自己友善的话，他也早已习惯了这些刺耳的话语、无端的猜疑和冰冷的回绝，他因此成了一个畏畏缩缩、躲躲闪闪的可怜虫。
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他站在那儿，愣愣地望着她远去的背影，直到在视线中消失。
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他也开始被一种强烈的自尊心唤醒，顿时充满了雄心壮志。
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……and as a result became a shrinking.
as a result：结果；因此
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The boy continued to think, and the dog sat and watched him.
continue to think：继续思考
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