美文记英语4级词汇 02.The House with a Golden Window（在线收听）

In the bowels of a mountain of frontier zone, a little boy lived in crude house, which could only accommodate five people of his household. There was not any railroad, freeway, highway or even a pub (an inn) around the mountain. His ancestors and he were the exclusive inhabitants on the mountain for several centuries.

As he was 6 years old, he could see a wonderful house across the valley on a higher altitude of the opposite mountain, which had a golden window. He fancied that the emperor, prince and princess in fable must have been living in that king of palace. Sometimes, in order to assure himself that it was an authentic house, the innocent boy often stared at it, with exceeding thirst for living in it.

6 years later, the little boy believed that he had acquired plentiful knowledge and skills to dominate his life. Accordingly, he made a farewell to his grandmother and parents, and flung himself to the expedition with a manual kit, which was made of the fabric that was weaved by his mother. There was a coil of nylon cord, a saw and other implements in it.

In spite of the hindrance of the muddy and slippery slope, for impulse of his keen desire, he probed the road through thorns with a stick, and proceeded towards the house consistently.

As he mounted the summit, he focused on the trail that led to the house and then on it. It seemed to appear an abnormal phenomenon----the house vanished weirdly and was replaced by an ugly and shabby house, which was comparable with his little house in every inch, and its windows were plain and rather dirty.

After opening the door, he found that the house was an obsolete mill in a state of disorder. In the center of the house, the tools which could grind wheat into flour were covered with thick dust and the trace of mice, a rude donkey saddle and some stained sacks lying nearby it. In one corner, a primitive rack was full of cracks, a spider was spinning web on it, and some fragments of mat were underneath it. In another corner, there was a stack of straw in mess, a rusted spade and a leaky barrel.

The little boy was extremely disappointed. When he was ready to leave, he detected a sight which amazed him----there was his little house across the valley on the lower mountain and its window was shining with golden color identically----as the midday daylight (sunshine) was shinning on the glass of its window…

This story gives us a hint (cue) that we shouldn't be blind to the welfare in our real life. What we need is to adjust and convert our ritual notions (concepts), to find and enjoy the happiness that belongs to us.