英語(yǔ)故事（雙語(yǔ)）：上好的石頭

A nice stone
上好的石頭

Sometime after Paul died, his widow, Lily, was finally able to speak about what a thoughtful and wonderful man her late husband had been.

"Paul thought of everything," she told her friends. Just before he died, Paul handed me three envelopes. 'Lily,' he told me, 'I have put all my last wishes in these three envelopes. After I am dead, please open them and do exactly that I have instructed. Then, I can rest in peace.'"

"What was in the envelopes?" her friends asks.

"The first envelope contained $5000 with a note, 'please use this money to buy a nice casket.' So I bought a beautiful mahogany(桃花心木) casket with such a comfortable lining that I know Paul is resting comfortably.”

"The second envelope contained $10000 with a note, 'Please use this for a nice funeral.' I arranged Paul a vey dignified funeral and bought all his favorite food for everyone attending."

"And the third envelope?" asked her friends.

"The third envelope contained $30000 with a note, 'Please use this to buy a nice stone.'"

Holding her hand in the air, Lily said, "So, do you like my stone?" showing off her 10 carat diamond ring.

保羅死后過(guò)了一段時(shí)間，遺孀莉莉最終覺(jué)得是時(shí)候跟大伙說(shuō)說(shuō)她的丈夫多么體貼多么好。

“保羅什么事情都安排好了，”莉莉跟朋友們說(shuō)，“臨死時(shí)，保羅給我三個(gè)信封。‘莉莉’他說(shuō)，‘這三個(gè)信封里裝有我的遺愿。我死后請(qǐng)你打開(kāi)，按照我說(shuō)的去做，那樣，我就安息了。’”

“信封里裝的什么愿望啊?”朋友們問(wèn)。

“第一個(gè)信封里有5000美元和一張條，‘請(qǐng)用這些錢每一副好棺材。’我就買了一副舒適襯里的紅木棺材，漂亮大方，我知道保羅躺在里面一定很舒適。”

“第二個(gè)信封里有一萬(wàn)美元和一張條，‘請(qǐng)用這些錢辦一個(gè)像樣的葬禮。’‘我就為保羅張羅了一個(gè)體面的葬禮，買了所有保羅最愛(ài)吃東西給所有人分享。’”

“第三個(gè)信封呢?”朋友們追問(wèn)。

“第三個(gè)信封里有3萬(wàn)美金和一張條，‘請(qǐng)用這些錢買一塊上好的石頭(指墓碑)’”

莉莉舉起手來(lái)說(shuō)：“看，這塊石頭好看嗎?”莉邊說(shuō)邊秀著她十克拉的鉆戒。