In the 1930s a young traveler was exploring the French Alps. He came upon a vast¹ stretch of barren² land. It was deso－late³. It was forbidding. It was ugly. It was the kind of place you hurry away from.
　　 Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland⁴ was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns⁵. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.
　　 The man was using the iron pope to punch⁶ holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man told the traveler, “I’ve planted over 100 000 acorns. Perhaps only a tenth of them will grow.” The old man’s wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. “I want to do something useful,” he said.
　　 Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler re－turned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild flowers perfumed the air. The traveler stood there recalling the desolation that once was; a beautiful oak forest stood there now—all because some－one cared.
　　


　　20世纪30年代，一个年轻的旅行者去法国的阿尔卑斯山探险。他来到一块辽阔的、贫瘠的荒野。那里渺无人烟，地势险峻，荒凉阴森。那是一种让人想要急忙逃离的地带。
　　 突然，年轻的旅行者停下了脚步。在这块广袤的荒地的正中央，有一位老人正在弯腰播种。他背上背着一大袋橡树子，手里拿着一根四英尺长的铁管子。
　　 老人用那根铁管子在地上打洞，然后，从袋子里取出一颗橡子，放进洞中。老人后来告诉旅行者:“我已经种下了100 000多粒橡子了。也许只有十分之一的橡子能够成长。”老人的妻子和儿子都已经死了，这是他选择的一种安度晚年的方式。“我想做一些有益的事，”他说。
　　 25年后，那个已不再年轻的旅行者又回到了那片荒凉的土地上。而他所看见的一切却让他目瞪口呆。他简直不相信自己的眼睛。那片土地现在已经被一片长五英里、宽两英里的美丽森林所覆盖。在那里，鸟儿们正在歌唱，动物们正在玩耍，野花的香气正飘浮在空气中。
　　 旅行者站在那里，一边回想它以前的荒凉，一边注视眼前这片美丽的橡树林——所有这些，都是出于某个人的关心。
　　艾草摘译自Follow Your Dreams