Two men， both seriously ill， occupied the same hospital room.One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid¹ from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families， their homes， their jobs， their involvement in the military and a whole lot of things. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up， he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst² flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite³ detail，the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band -- he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning， the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the life- less body of the man by the window， who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospi- tal attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate⁴，the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch，and after making sure he was comfortable， she left him alone.

Slowly， painfully， he propped⁵ himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled⁶ his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.She said， \"Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.\"

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy， despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow，but happiness when shared，is doubled.If you want to feel rich，just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

注釋:

1．fluid n. 液體 2．a(chǎn)midstprep．在…中，在…當(dāng)中

3．exquisite adj．吸引人的 4．a(chǎn)ppropriate adj．適當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

5．prop vt．支撐6．compel vt．強(qiáng)迫，使不得不

兩名重病的男人住在同一間病房。其中的一位每天下午都要在床頭坐上一小時(shí)以排空肺部的積液。他的病床臨窗，那是病房里惟一的窗子。另一位不得不整天臥床。

兩個(gè)人一聊就是數(shù)小時(shí)。他們談各自的妻子、家庭、工作、當(dāng)兵的經(jīng)歷，真是無所不談。每天下午當(dāng)臨窗的男人從床上坐起時(shí)，他都要向他的室友描述在窗外所看到的一切，以此來打發(fā)時(shí)光。

鄰床的男人開始為這一小時(shí)而活著，只有在這一刻聽著對(duì)有關(guān)窗外世界的一切活動(dòng)和色彩的描述，他的世界才得以擴(kuò)大并恢復(fù)了生機(jī)。

透過窗戶可以看到一個(gè)公園，公園里有一個(gè)美麗的湖。鴨子和天鵝在水中嬉戲，孩子們玩著他們的模型船。年輕的情侶攜手漫步于姹紫嫣紅的花叢中，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地可以看到城市天際線的美景。

當(dāng)窗邊的男人娓娓地道出這一切時(shí)，房子另一邊的男士就會(huì)閉上眼睛想像著如畫的風(fēng)景。

一個(gè)和暖的下午，窗邊的男人描述著外面路過的一支行進(jìn)隊(duì)伍。雖然另一個(gè)男人無法聽到奏樂聲——可他能夠“看”到它，那是用心靈的眼睛，通過窗邊的這位紳士繪聲繪色的敘述，他看到了一切。

日子一天天過去了。一天早上，日間護(hù)士端水到病房給病人洗澡，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)窗邊男人僵直的軀體，他已經(jīng)在睡夢(mèng)中安祥地死去。她悲痛萬分，打電話叫醫(yī)院的護(hù)工將尸體抬走。

等到一個(gè)適當(dāng)?shù)臋C(jī)會(huì)，病房里的另一個(gè)男人請(qǐng)求是否可以搬到窗邊的床鋪。護(hù)士很樂意，幫他調(diào)換了床鋪，把一切安排停當(dāng)，她就走了。

他緩慢而艱難地用單肘支撐起自己，準(zhǔn)備親眼看看窗外的景色。他掙扎著緩緩地轉(zhuǎn)向窗外——他面對(duì)的是一堵空白的墻壁。

這男人請(qǐng)教護(hù)士，是什么使他垂死的室友能描述窗外如此精彩的景物。護(hù)士回答說，他是個(gè)盲人，連墻壁都無法看到。她說：“或許，他只是想鼓勵(lì)你。”

無論我們的處境如何，使他人感到快樂是一種巨大的快樂。悲傷的分擔(dān)可以使人的哀痛減半，但是對(duì)喜悅的分享卻是雙倍的快樂。如果你想體會(huì)富有，只需清點(diǎn)你所有用金錢無法買到的東西。