文本内容:
The Candles烛There wasonce abig wax candle whohad thehighest opinionof hismerits.〃I,〃he said,〃am madeof thepurest wax,cast in the bestmold.I burnmore brilliantlythanany othercandle,and Ioutlast themall.I belongin thehigh chandelieror thesilvercandlestick.,z〃What adelightful lifeyou mustlead,the tallow candle admitted.〃I amonly tallow.Justa tallowdip.But its a comfortto thinkhow muchbetter offI amthan thetaper.He,s onlydippedtwice,while Iam dippedeight timesto makea thickand respectablecandle ofme.Imsatisfied.To besure itwould bebetter to be bornof waxthan oftallow,and alucky thingto be shapedin amold,but oneisnt askedhow hewants tobe born.Your placeis in the bigroomswith glasschandeliers.Mine isin thekitchen.But kitchenis agood placetoo.All thefoodin thehouse comesfrom there.〃“There aremore importantthings inthe worldthan food,〃the wax candle boasted.“Theresthe glitterof goodsociety inwhich Ishine.Why,I and all myfamily areinvited toa ballthatsbeing givenhere this very evening.No soonerhad hesaid thisthan all the wax candles weresent for.But the tallow candlewasnot leftbehind.The mistressof thehouse tookit inher ownhand andcarried itto thekitchen,where apoor boywaited withhis basketfull ofpotatoes anda fewapples thatshe hadgivenhim.〃And here,sa candle foryou too,my littlefriend,she toldhim.〃Your mothercan useit toworkby whenshe sitsup lateat night.〃The ladyssmall daughterstood closebeside her mother,and whenshe heardthe magicwords lateatnight,“she forgottobeshy.〃Im going to stayup latetonight too!”she exclaimed.〃We areto havea ballthis evening,and Imto wearmy bigred ribbon.z,No candleever couldshinelike theeyes ofa child.“Happiness isa blessedthing tosee,“thetallow candle thoughtto himself.〃I mustn,t forgethowit looks,for Icertainly shan,t seeit again.〃They puthim inthe basketand closedthelid.Away theboy wentwith it.,zWhere canhe betaking me〃the candlewondered.〃I mayhave tolive withpoor peoplewhodon,t evenown abrass candlestick,while thewax candlesits insilver andbeams atall thebestpeople.How fineit mustbe toshine ingood company.But thisis whatI getfor beingtallow,not wax.〃And the candle didcome tolive withpoor people.They werea widowand herthree children,whohad alow-ceilinged roomacross theway fromthe well-to-do house.〃God blessour neighborforall thatshe gaveus,〃the widowsaid.This goodcandle willburn farinto thenight.〃Shestruck amatch toit.〃Fut,fie,z,he sputtered.z,What avile smellingmatch shelights mewith.Would anyoneoffersuch akitchen matchto thewax candle,inthewell-to-do houseacross thec〃wayThere the candles werelighted too.They madethe streetbright ascarriages camerumbling withguestsdressed intheir bestfor theball.The musicstruck up.“Now thebalT sbeginning.The tallowcandle burnedbrighter ashe rememberedthe happylittlegirl whoseface wasmore shiningthan thelight ofall thosewaxcandles.〃I11never seeanythinglike thatagain.The smallestof thepoor childrenreached up,for shewas verysmall,and puther armsaroundthe necksof herbrother andsister.What shehad totell themwas soimportant thatit hadtobe whispered.Tonight weregoingtohave-just thinkof it-warm potatoes,thisverynight.〃Iler facebeamed withhappiness and thecandlebeamed rightback ather.He sawhappiness again,andagladness asgreat aswhen the little girlinthewell-to-do housesaid,Were havingaball thisevening,and Imto wearmy redribbon.”〃Is itsuch atreat toget warmpotatoes”thecandlewondered.Little childrenmust managetobehappy heretoo.〃He wepttallow tearsofjoy,and morethan thatacandlecannot do.The tablewas spreadand thepotatoes wereeaten.How goodthey tasted!It wasaThere wasan applefor everyone,andthesmallest childsaid grace:thanks,dearreal feast.Lord,I giveto Thee“NowThou againhast filledme.Amen.〃ThatI sayit nicely”thelittlegirl asked.“And didn,t“Dont saysuch things,〃hermothertold her.Just thankthe goodLord forfillingyou up.〃The childrenwent tobed,were kissedgood night,and fellfast asleep.Their mothersat uplateand sewedto makea livingfor themand forherself.From thewell-to-do housecame lightandmusic.But thestars overheadshone onallthehouses,rich orpoor,with thesame light,clearand kind.“This hasbeen awonderful evening,/z thetallowcandletold himself.Can thewaxcandlehavehad anybetter timeof itin hissilver candlestickId liketo knowthat beforeIm burnedout.〃He rememberedthe twohappy children,one facelighted upby thewaxcandle,the othershiningin thetallowcandle,s light.One washappy asthe other.Yes,that isthe wholestory!。