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1、AStoryFromtheSandDunes沙丘的故事This is a story of the sand dunes of Jutland, but it doesnt begin there; no, it begins far away to the south, in Spain. The ocean is the highway between the two countries. So now let your thoughts journey to Spain!It is warm there, and it is beautiful. The fiery red pomegr
2、anate blossoms grow among the dark laurels; a refreshing wind from the mountains breathes over the orange gardens and the graceful Moorish palaces with golden cupolas and colored walls. Children walk in procession through the streets, carrying torches and waving banners, while high above them stars
3、sparkle in the clear arching vault of heaven. Song and castanets can be heard; young men and girls dance under the blossoming acacias, while the beggar lies on a carved marble block, quenches his thirst with a juicy watermelon, and dozes his life away. It is all like a beautiful dream; give yourself
4、 up to it. Yes, as did the young married couple, to whom had been granted all the choicest of earthly blessings - health, beauty, good nature, riches, and honor.We are as happy as anyone could ever be! they said, with full conviction in their hearts. Yet they had one step higher to go to attain comp
5、lete happiness, and that would be reached when God would give them a child, a son in their own image, body and soul. That blessed child would be welcomed with jubilance, cared for with the utmost love and tenderness, and be surrounded by all the luxuries that riches and an influential family can pro
6、vide.Meanwhile the days glided past, each like a holiday.Life is a precious gift of love, almost too great to understand, said the wife. And just to think that this fullness of bliss shall still increase and grow, in another life, throughout eternity. I can hardly conceive of it!And it certainly als
7、o shows the arrogance of people, said her husband. It really shows a terrible conceit when people persuade themselves to think theyll live forever - become as God! Were these not the words of the serpent, the master of lies?You surely dont doubt that there is a life after this, do you? asked his you
8、ng wife, and it was as if a shadow passed through their sunlit thoughts for the first time.Faith promises it, I know, and the priests tell us it is so, said the young man. But, happy as I am now, I feel and know that it is only pride, an arrogant thought that demands another life after this - an ext
9、ension of this happiness. Havent we been granted enough in this life, so that we could and should be satisfied?Yes, that has been given us, said the young wife, but how many thousands find this life a heavy trail! How many have been thrown into this world only to find poverty, shame, sickness, and m
10、isfortune! No, if there were no afterlife, the blessings on this earth would be too unequally divided - our God would not be a God of justice!The beggar down on the street has pleasures just as dear to him as the king enjoys in his splendid palace, said the young man. And what about the poor beast o
11、f burden that is beaten and starved and works itself to death? Doesnt it sense the bitterness of its miserable life? Why shouldnt it too demand an afterlife, and call it unfair that it wasnt granted the advantages of a higher creation?Christ told us, In my Fathers house are many mansions, answered t
12、he young wife. The Kingdom of Heaven is as infinite as Gods love. The animal is His creation too, and I dont believe that any single life will be lost, but that each will be granted the greatest share of happiness it is capable of receiving.But this world is good enough for me now, said the young ma
13、n, as he slipped his arm around his lovely, amiable wife and smoked a cigarette on the open balcony, where the cool air was heavy with the fragrance of orange blossoms and carnations. Songs and the clicking of castanets came from the street, while the stars glittered high above, and two eyes full of
14、 love - his wifes eyes - gazed on him with the expression of eternal love. A moment like this, he said, makes being born well worth while - just to experience such a moment - and then vanish, he said smiling, while his wife shook her finger reprovingly. And the cloud soon passed; they were much too
15、happy.Everything that happened seemed only to add to their happiness and well-being. A change came, but it was only a change of place, not a change that diminished their happiness and enjoyment of life. The young man was appointed by the King to be ambassador to the court of imperial Russia, a post
16、of great honor, such as his birth and ability well fitted him to occupy. He had a great fortune of his own, and his young wifes wealth was equal to his, for she was the daughter of the richest and most respected merchant. And since one of her fathers largest and finest ships would sail this year to Stockholm, it was arranged that the dear children, the daughter and the son-in-law, would travel on it to St. Petersbu
