The Golden Rule.

 Narrated by Cipriano Seráfica, a Pangasinan from Mangaldan, Pangasinan.

 

A long time ago there lived in a town a couple who had a son. The father of the husband lived with his son and daughter-in-law happily for many years. But when he grew very old, he became very feeble¹. Every time he ate at the table, he always broke a plate, because his hands trembled so. The old man’s awkwardness² soon made his son angry, and one day he made a wooden plate for his father to eat out of. The poor old man had to eat all his food from this wooden plate.

 

When the grandson noticed what his father had done, he took some tools and went down under the house. There he took a piece of board and began to carve it. When his father saw him and said to him, “What are you doing, son?” the boy replied to him, “Father, I am making wooden plates for you and my mother when you are old.”

 

As the son uttered these words, tears gushed³ from the father’s eyes. From that time on, the old man was always allowed to eat at the table with the rest of the family, nor was he made to eat from a wooden plate.

 

MORAL: Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.

1 feeble   

adj.虚弱的，衰弱的，无力的，无效的，无益的

参考例句：

• She made a feeble effort to get to school on time.她努力想按时赶到学校，但未成功。
• An old or sick person is often feeble.老人或病人往往很虚弱。

2 awkwardness   

n.笨拙；粗劣；难为情；尴尬

参考例句：

• His awkwardness made him fumble with the key. 由于尴尬不安，他拿钥匙开锁时显得笨手笨脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I tried to smooth over the awkwardness of this first meeting. 我试图掩饰初次会面时的不自然。 来自辞典例句

3 gushed   

v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》