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I was on my way out of the driveway when my son came running to the car. His face was radiant with joy when he said: “I have something for you, Dad.”
“You do?” I asked, slightly annoyed by the delay. He opened his hands and showed me the best a five-year-old boy could imagine. “I found it myself.” In his small hands was a marble, an old racecar, a broken 1)elastic, and various other items I have since forgotten. “Here, Dad, these are for you.”
He was 2)bursting with pride.
“I don’t have time right now, my boy. I am going to the mall to get a few things for Mum. Can’t you put them in the garage for me?”
His smile faded, and at the very instant I put the car back 3)in gear, I felt my conscience 4)nagging me. When I came back home, I asked my son: “Where are those toys you had for me?”
“I thought you didn’t want them, so I gave them to Adam.” His playmate Adam lives on our street, and I could easily imagine that the little guy had received the treasures with much more enthusiasm than I had showed my son. My son’s action hurt me, but I deserved it—not just because it showed me how thoughtlessly I had treated him, but also because it made me remember another little boy.
It was the boy’s big sister’s birthday, and he had been given some money so he could buy her a present. He browsed through the toyshop for a long time—the present had to be something special. Finally, he found it: A chewing gum machine filled with brightly coloured 5)bubble gum. He was very anxious to show it to her as soon as he came home, but he firmly withstood the temptation.
Later, when all the big sister’s friends had arrived, she began opening the presents. She cried with joy for every present she opened—and with every cry the boy became more and more shy. The eight-year-old girls had spent much more money on the presents than he could afford. Suddenly his present seemed small and insignificant. But he still waited anxiously to see her joy when she opened his present.
At last she opened his present, and he saw how disappointed she was, indeed embarrassed. In order not to lose face among her friends she could not thank him too 6)exuberantly for the present. She gave her friends a know-all smile. “Thanks,” she said to him. “It’s just what I wanted.” The rest of the girls desperately tried not to giggle.
The boy was hurt and confused. His otherwise beautiful present now looked like the cheap plastic thing it actually was. He went out in the garden and started to cry.
Soon after his mother showed up and, in a soft voice, asked him what was wrong. He explained it to her as best as he could.
She listened, and then went inside the house. Shortly after, the big sister came out to him. He could see by the look on her face that she had been told to do it, but her sincere regret showed him that she had not hurt him on purpose. She actually liked the chewing gum machine. He said that he could understand that, and he actually could. She was only trying to be nice to him.
Now the story repeated itself. Instead of my big sister and me it was my son who had to decide for himself whether or not 7)it really was the thought that counts. And my reaction would have a great influence on his decision.
I gave my children some money at Christmas so they could buy gifts themselves. It was very difficult for them to keep quiet with what they had bought for me, especially for my son. Every single day he asked me if I could guess what he had bought for me.
On Christmas Evening he demanded that I opened his present first. I unwrapped it and looked—it was indeed the most wonderful gift I had ever been given. But I did not look at it with my 33-year-old experienced eyes, either. Instead I looked at it as an anxious child of five would look at it.
The gift was a small green plastic dinosaur. My son quickly showed me why this dinosaur was something special: The claws on the forelegs formed a clip so I could fasten it on my clothes. His eyes sparkled with expectancy and love—of the kind you only see in a child’s look.
I knew how difficult it must have been for him to find a gift that showed his feelings for me in the best possible way. So I thanked him in his own 8)language. I fastened the dinosaur on my jacket and talked about how “cool” it was, and, yes, he was absolutely right—I loved it.
So the next time you see a grown man with a primitive paper tie or a “cool” tattoo of a 9)caterpillar, do not shrug your shoulders out of pity for him. If you tell him that he looks foolish he may answer: “That may be, but I have a five-year-old son who thinks I am the world’s greatest dad, and I would rather wear his present than own all the 10)riches in the world.”
And that is why I walk around with a green dinosaur on my jacket.
我正把车驶离车道，这时我儿子跑过车这头来。他满脸洋溢着喜悦，说道：“爸爸，我有东西给你。”
“是吗？”我问道，对这一耽搁有点不高兴。他摊开双手，给我看一个五岁男孩能想到的最好的东西。“我自己找的。”他的一双小手里有一颗弹珠，一部旧玩具车，一根断开的橡皮带以及各种各样我后来想不起的东西。“拿着，爸爸，这些都是给你的。”
他一脸的自豪。
“儿子，我现在没有时间。我要去商场给妈妈买些东西。替我把这些东西放进车库好吗？”
他脸上的笑容消失了。就在那时，我重新启动了汽车，感觉心里涌起了一阵挥之不去的内疚感。回到家后我问儿子：“你给我的那些玩具在哪呢？”
“我以为你不想要它们，所以我给亚当了。”他的玩伴亚当跟我们住同一条街，我一下就能想象出那个小男孩收到那些珍宝时的神情，肯定比我刚才对儿子表现出来的要热情得多。儿子这一举动伤害了我，但我活该——不仅因为这件事显出我如此不顾及他的感受，还因为事情令我想起了另外一个小男孩。
那天是男孩他大姐姐的生日。别人给了他一些钱，所以他能买份礼物给姐姐。想着得送一份特别的礼物，他在玩具店看了又看，逛了很久，最后找到了—— 一个装满色彩鲜艳的口香糖的小机器。他一回到家就迫不及待地想要给她看，但他强忍住了。
后来，当大姐姐的朋友都来了，大姐姐开始拆礼物。她每打开一个礼物就开心地惊叫一番——每一声惊叫都让男孩觉得愈发羞怯。那帮八岁大的女孩们花在礼物上的钱都比男孩多得多，他根本买不起那些礼物。突然，他的礼物看起来似乎不起眼且不值一提。但他仍急切地等着看她姐姐打开他那份礼物时的喜悦。
最后，她打开了他的礼物，他随即看见姐姐有多失望，老实说简直是面带难色。为了不在她的朋友们面前丢脸，她谢谢他时不能表现得太过开心。她向朋友们摆出个“我就知道”的微笑。“谢谢，”她对弟弟说道，“这就是我想要的东西。”其余的女孩拼命忍着不笑出来。
男孩受伤了，感到迷惘而慌乱。他那原本漂亮别致的礼物现在看上去只像个廉价的塑料制品，尽管它的确就是。他走出去，走进花园，开始哭了起来。
不一会儿，他妈妈出现了，温柔地问他怎么了。他尽力向妈妈解释。
她倾听着，然后走进屋。一会儿，大姐姐走出来，走向他。他能从姐姐脸上的神情看出是妈妈让她来道歉的，但她流露的诚挚悔意让他知道姐姐并不是故意伤害自己的。她事实上很喜欢那个口香糖机器。他说他能理解，事实也的确如此。她只是尽可能地对他表现友好。
如今故事重演。主角不是我和我大姐姐，而是我儿子，他得自己决定，送礼时是否真的重在心意。而我的回应将对他的决定产生很大的影响。
圣诞节，我给孩子们一些钱让他们自己去买礼物。要他们忍着不说给我买了什么礼物是件极其困难的事，特别是我儿子。每天他都问我猜不猜得出他给我买了什么。
圣诞夜，他要求我最先打开他的礼物。我打开一看——确实是我有生以来收到的最棒的礼物。然而我并没用我那三十三岁成人的目光来看，而是用一个五岁男孩那双热切的双眼来看它。
那份礼物是一只绿色的塑料小恐龙。我儿子很快向我展示了这只恐龙的特别之处：它前肢上的爪子其实是个夹子，我可以把它夹在衣服上。他的眼睛一闪一闪的，饱含那种你只能在孩子脸上才看的到的期盼和爱意。
我知道，孩子要找到最能表达他对我的感情的一份礼物一定很不容易。所以我用孩子的方式感谢他。我把恐龙夹在我的外套上，并说它好“酷”，是的，他完全没错——我很喜爱这礼物。
所以下次你要是看见一个大男人打着条粗糙的纸领带，或者贴着个“酷酷”的毛虫图案纹身，不要耸肩，觉得他可怜幼稚。如果你跟他说他看上去很傻，他可能会回答你：“也许吧，但我有个五岁的儿子觉得我是世界上最棒的爸爸。相比拥有世界上所有的财富，我更宁愿戴上他送的礼物。”
而那就是我把一个绿恐龙夹在外套上到处去的原因了。
“You do?” I asked, slightly annoyed by the delay. He opened his hands and showed me the best a five-year-old boy could imagine. “I found it myself.” In his small hands was a marble, an old racecar, a broken 1)elastic, and various other items I have since forgotten. “Here, Dad, these are for you.”
He was 2)bursting with pride.
“I don’t have time right now, my boy. I am going to the mall to get a few things for Mum. Can’t you put them in the garage for me?”
His smile faded, and at the very instant I put the car back 3)in gear, I felt my conscience 4)nagging me. When I came back home, I asked my son: “Where are those toys you had for me?”
“I thought you didn’t want them, so I gave them to Adam.” His playmate Adam lives on our street, and I could easily imagine that the little guy had received the treasures with much more enthusiasm than I had showed my son. My son’s action hurt me, but I deserved it—not just because it showed me how thoughtlessly I had treated him, but also because it made me remember another little boy.
It was the boy’s big sister’s birthday, and he had been given some money so he could buy her a present. He browsed through the toyshop for a long time—the present had to be something special. Finally, he found it: A chewing gum machine filled with brightly coloured 5)bubble gum. He was very anxious to show it to her as soon as he came home, but he firmly withstood the temptation.
Later, when all the big sister’s friends had arrived, she began opening the presents. She cried with joy for every present she opened—and with every cry the boy became more and more shy. The eight-year-old girls had spent much more money on the presents than he could afford. Suddenly his present seemed small and insignificant. But he still waited anxiously to see her joy when she opened his present.
At last she opened his present, and he saw how disappointed she was, indeed embarrassed. In order not to lose face among her friends she could not thank him too 6)exuberantly for the present. She gave her friends a know-all smile. “Thanks,” she said to him. “It’s just what I wanted.” The rest of the girls desperately tried not to giggle.
The boy was hurt and confused. His otherwise beautiful present now looked like the cheap plastic thing it actually was. He went out in the garden and started to cry.
Soon after his mother showed up and, in a soft voice, asked him what was wrong. He explained it to her as best as he could.
She listened, and then went inside the house. Shortly after, the big sister came out to him. He could see by the look on her face that she had been told to do it, but her sincere regret showed him that she had not hurt him on purpose. She actually liked the chewing gum machine. He said that he could understand that, and he actually could. She was only trying to be nice to him.
Now the story repeated itself. Instead of my big sister and me it was my son who had to decide for himself whether or not 7)it really was the thought that counts. And my reaction would have a great influence on his decision.
I gave my children some money at Christmas so they could buy gifts themselves. It was very difficult for them to keep quiet with what they had bought for me, especially for my son. Every single day he asked me if I could guess what he had bought for me.
On Christmas Evening he demanded that I opened his present first. I unwrapped it and looked—it was indeed the most wonderful gift I had ever been given. But I did not look at it with my 33-year-old experienced eyes, either. Instead I looked at it as an anxious child of five would look at it.
The gift was a small green plastic dinosaur. My son quickly showed me why this dinosaur was something special: The claws on the forelegs formed a clip so I could fasten it on my clothes. His eyes sparkled with expectancy and love—of the kind you only see in a child’s look.
I knew how difficult it must have been for him to find a gift that showed his feelings for me in the best possible way. So I thanked him in his own 8)language. I fastened the dinosaur on my jacket and talked about how “cool” it was, and, yes, he was absolutely right—I loved it.
So the next time you see a grown man with a primitive paper tie or a “cool” tattoo of a 9)caterpillar, do not shrug your shoulders out of pity for him. If you tell him that he looks foolish he may answer: “That may be, but I have a five-year-old son who thinks I am the world’s greatest dad, and I would rather wear his present than own all the 10)riches in the world.”
And that is why I walk around with a green dinosaur on my jacket.
我正把车驶离车道，这时我儿子跑过车这头来。他满脸洋溢着喜悦，说道：“爸爸，我有东西给你。”
“是吗？”我问道，对这一耽搁有点不高兴。他摊开双手，给我看一个五岁男孩能想到的最好的东西。“我自己找的。”他的一双小手里有一颗弹珠，一部旧玩具车，一根断开的橡皮带以及各种各样我后来想不起的东西。“拿着，爸爸，这些都是给你的。”
他一脸的自豪。
“儿子，我现在没有时间。我要去商场给妈妈买些东西。替我把这些东西放进车库好吗？”
他脸上的笑容消失了。就在那时，我重新启动了汽车，感觉心里涌起了一阵挥之不去的内疚感。回到家后我问儿子：“你给我的那些玩具在哪呢？”
“我以为你不想要它们，所以我给亚当了。”他的玩伴亚当跟我们住同一条街，我一下就能想象出那个小男孩收到那些珍宝时的神情，肯定比我刚才对儿子表现出来的要热情得多。儿子这一举动伤害了我，但我活该——不仅因为这件事显出我如此不顾及他的感受，还因为事情令我想起了另外一个小男孩。
那天是男孩他大姐姐的生日。别人给了他一些钱，所以他能买份礼物给姐姐。想着得送一份特别的礼物，他在玩具店看了又看，逛了很久，最后找到了—— 一个装满色彩鲜艳的口香糖的小机器。他一回到家就迫不及待地想要给她看，但他强忍住了。
后来，当大姐姐的朋友都来了，大姐姐开始拆礼物。她每打开一个礼物就开心地惊叫一番——每一声惊叫都让男孩觉得愈发羞怯。那帮八岁大的女孩们花在礼物上的钱都比男孩多得多，他根本买不起那些礼物。突然，他的礼物看起来似乎不起眼且不值一提。但他仍急切地等着看她姐姐打开他那份礼物时的喜悦。
最后，她打开了他的礼物，他随即看见姐姐有多失望，老实说简直是面带难色。为了不在她的朋友们面前丢脸，她谢谢他时不能表现得太过开心。她向朋友们摆出个“我就知道”的微笑。“谢谢，”她对弟弟说道，“这就是我想要的东西。”其余的女孩拼命忍着不笑出来。
男孩受伤了，感到迷惘而慌乱。他那原本漂亮别致的礼物现在看上去只像个廉价的塑料制品，尽管它的确就是。他走出去，走进花园，开始哭了起来。
不一会儿，他妈妈出现了，温柔地问他怎么了。他尽力向妈妈解释。
她倾听着，然后走进屋。一会儿，大姐姐走出来，走向他。他能从姐姐脸上的神情看出是妈妈让她来道歉的，但她流露的诚挚悔意让他知道姐姐并不是故意伤害自己的。她事实上很喜欢那个口香糖机器。他说他能理解，事实也的确如此。她只是尽可能地对他表现友好。
如今故事重演。主角不是我和我大姐姐，而是我儿子，他得自己决定，送礼时是否真的重在心意。而我的回应将对他的决定产生很大的影响。
圣诞节，我给孩子们一些钱让他们自己去买礼物。要他们忍着不说给我买了什么礼物是件极其困难的事，特别是我儿子。每天他都问我猜不猜得出他给我买了什么。
圣诞夜，他要求我最先打开他的礼物。我打开一看——确实是我有生以来收到的最棒的礼物。然而我并没用我那三十三岁成人的目光来看，而是用一个五岁男孩那双热切的双眼来看它。
那份礼物是一只绿色的塑料小恐龙。我儿子很快向我展示了这只恐龙的特别之处：它前肢上的爪子其实是个夹子，我可以把它夹在衣服上。他的眼睛一闪一闪的，饱含那种你只能在孩子脸上才看的到的期盼和爱意。
我知道，孩子要找到最能表达他对我的感情的一份礼物一定很不容易。所以我用孩子的方式感谢他。我把恐龙夹在我的外套上，并说它好“酷”，是的，他完全没错——我很喜爱这礼物。
所以下次你要是看见一个大男人打着条粗糙的纸领带，或者贴着个“酷酷”的毛虫图案纹身，不要耸肩，觉得他可怜幼稚。如果你跟他说他看上去很傻，他可能会回答你：“也许吧，但我有个五岁的儿子觉得我是世界上最棒的爸爸。相比拥有世界上所有的财富，我更宁愿戴上他送的礼物。”
而那就是我把一个绿恐龙夹在外套上到处去的原因了。