Once upon a time， there was an island where Happiness， Sadness， Knowledge， and all of the others， lived including Love. One day it was announced to them that the island would sink， so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk， Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said，

“Richness， can you take me with you？”

Richness answered， “No， I cant. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. “Vanity， please help me！”

“I cant help you， Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat，” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked， “Sadness， let me go with you.”

“Oh ... Love， I am so sad that I need to be by myself！"

Happiness passed by Love， too， but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly， there was a voice， “Come， Love， I will take you.” It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed， Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land， the elder went his own way.

Realizing how much was owed to the elder， Love asked Knowledge， another elder， “Who helped me？”

“It was Time，” Knowledge answered.

“Time？” asked Love. “But why did Time help me？”

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered， “Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is.”

從前有一个岛，岛上住着幸福、悲伤、知识和所有其他人，以及爱。一天，他们听说小岛即将沉没，因此都建造小船，纷纷离开，除了爱。

只有爱留了下来，因为它希望能坚持到最后一刻。

小岛即将沉没了，爱决定请求帮助。

富有驾着一艘大船从爱身边经过，爱说：“富有，你能带上我吗？”

富有回答说：“不行，我的船上载满了金银财宝，没有你待的地方。”

虚荣坐在漂亮的小船上从爱身边驶过，爱问：“虚荣，请帮帮我吧！”

虚荣说：“不行，你全身湿透了，会毁了我的船。”

悲伤的船靠近了，爱问：“悲伤，请带我走吧。”

“哦……爱，我太难过了，想一个人待着。”

幸福也经过了爱的身边，但它太开心了，根本没听见爱在呼唤。

突然，一个声音喊道：“来，爱，我带你走。” 原来是一位长者。爱太高兴了，竟然忘了问他们即将去何方。当他们来到岸上，长者自己离开了。

爱突然意识到自己需要感谢他。于是，爱问另一位老者——知识：“谁帮助了我？”

知识说：“是时间。”

“时间？”爱问，“但是时间为什么帮助我？”

知识意味深长地笑着说：“因为只有时间了解爱的价值。”

Vocabulary

construct  v. 建造，修建

vessel  n. 船，舰;

capable  adj. 有能力的;有才干的;