the secret of happiness
There is a wonderful fable about a young orphan girl who had no
family and no one to love her. One day, feeling exceptionally sad
and lonely, she was walking through a meadow when she noticed a
small butterfly caught unmercifully in a thornbush. The more the
butterfly struggled to free itself, the deeper the thorns cut into
its fragile body. The young orphan girl carefully released the
butterfly from its captivity. Instead of flying away, the little
butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed her
eyes in disbelief.
"For your wonderful kindness," the good fairy said to the girl,
"I will grant you any wish you would like."
The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, "I want to
be happy!"
The fairy said, "Very well," and leaned toward her and whispered
in her ear. Then the good fairy vanished.
As the little girl grew up, there was no one in the land as happy
as she. Everyone asked her the secret of her happiness. She would
only smile and answer, "The secret of my happiness is that I
listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl."
When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all
rallied around her, afraid that the fabulous secret of happiness
would die with her. "Tell us, please," they begged. "Tell us what
the good fairy said."
The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, "She told me that
everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, no matter how old or
young, how rich or poor, had need of me."
青青子衿,悠悠我心. 但为君故,沉吟至今...
