給愛的人，最珍貴的禮物

Gracious giving requires no special talent, nor large amounts of money. It is compounded of the heart and head acting together to achieve the perfect means of expressing our feelings. For, as Emerson explains, "The only gift is a portion of thyself."
一份貼心的禮物並不需要非常特別，也不需要花大價錢去買。一份禮物應該包涵我們的心意，傳達我們的思念。愛默生曾說過：“最好的禮物就是你自己。”

A little girl gave her mother several small boxes tied with bright ribbons. Inside each were slips of paper on which the child had printed messages such as, "Good for two flower-bed weedings," "Good for two floor-scrubbings." She had never read Emerson, but unconsciously she put a large part of her small self into her gift.
一個小女孩給了她媽媽幾個用漂亮緞帶打包好的小盒子，每個盒子裏都裝着小女孩打印好的紙條，上面寫着比如“給花壇除草兩次”、“洗兩次地板”之類的字。她沒有讀過愛默生的那句話，但是她把自己的心意放進禮物裏送給了媽媽。

A young bride received a wedding present from an older woman. With it went a note, "Do not open until you and your husband have your first tiff."
一位年輕的新娘從一位老婦人那裏收到一份結婚禮物，還有一張紙條：“在你和你丈夫第一次吵架時打開。”

When there finally came a day of misunderstanding the bride remembered the package. In it she found a card box filled with her friend's favorite recipes--and a note, "You will catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar." It was a wise woman indeed who gave of her experience with her gift.
後來有一天，他們發生了爭吵，這是新娘想起了這份包裹，於是她找到它，發現裏面裝滿了老婦人最喜歡的食譜，還附着一張紙條：“蜂蜜比醋能招來更多蒼蠅（甜言蜜語比尖酸刻薄更得人心）。”這位智慧的老婦人把自己的生活經驗當做禮物送給了新娘。

Family gifts should be the most satisfying because we know each member's wish and whim. Yet how often we make the stereotyped offerings--ties, candy, or household utensils. One man I know is planning an unusual present for his wife. When I saw him coming out of a dancing studio, he explained: "I got tired of hearing my wife complain about my dancing. It's going to be a lasting birthday present for her--my dancing well."
來自家人的禮物應該是最令人滿意的了，因爲我們知道每位家庭成員的喜好和念想。但是我們卻經常送一些千篇一律的禮物——領帶、糖果或是家用器皿。我曾見過一個男人爲他的妻子準備了一份不同尋常的禮物，當他走出舞蹈培訓班的時候，他告訴我：“我受夠了我妻子對我舞技的抱怨，我精進的舞技對她來說可是一件永恆的禮物。”

An elderly lady on an Iowa farm wept with delight when her son in New York had a telephone installed in her house and followed it up with a weekly long-distance call.
一位住在愛荷華州的農場的老婦人喜極而泣，因爲她在紐約的兒子在她家裏裝了部電話，而且在接下來每一週都打長途電話回家。

All gifts that contain a portion of self signify that someone has been really thinking of us. One of the most useful and thoughtful travel presents a girl ever received was currency of the country to which she was going. A friend bought her some pesos from a bank so that she would have the correct money for tips and taxi fare when she first arrived in Mexico.
所有包含了自己的心意的禮物都表示着禮物主人對我們的思念。對一位要去旅行的姑娘來說，最實用、最貼心的禮物莫過於要去的那個國家的貨幣了。她的一位朋友從銀行兌換了一些比索給她，這樣她就可以在初到墨西哥的時候有錢付小費和車費了。

Chances for heroic giving are rare, yet every day there are opportunities to give a part of yourself to someone who needs it. It may be no more than a kind word or a letter written at the right time. The important thing about any gift is the amount of yourself you put into it.
我們很少有機會送出華麗的禮物，但是我們每天都有機會把自己的一部分送給需要的人，也許是一句貼心的話語，也許是一封來得正好的信，但不管送什麼禮物，最重要包含自己的心意。