Four wives in your life

Four wives in your life
从前，有个商人娶了四个老婆，他对除了大老婆之外的三个小老婆宠爱有加，以不同的方式爱着她们。临终前，商人问四个老婆谁愿意陪伴着他，随他而去。二老婆、三老婆和四老婆一一摇头，谁都不愿意。在商人伤心至极之时，他那面黄肌瘦的大老婆在一旁说道：“我愿意陪你去，无论你到哪里，我都愿意跟着你。”……商人悲痛万分，后悔莫及。
其实，我们每个人的一生中都有四个爱人相伴。读这篇文章，感动之余，你一定能悟出点什么。
There was a rich merchant who had four wives． He loved the fourth wife the most and adorned¹ her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies²． He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best．
He also loved the third wife very much． He‘s very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends． However，the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men．
He too，loved his second wife． She is a very considerate person，always patient and in fact is the merchant‘s confidante． Whenever the merchant faced some problems，he always turned to his second wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times．
Now，the merchant‘s first wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household． However，the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply，he hardly took notice of her．
One day，the merchant fell ill． Before long，he knew that he was going to die soon． He thought of his luxurious³ life and told himself，“Now I have four wives with me． But when I die，I‘ll be alone． How lonely I’ll be！”
Thus，he asked the fourth wife，“I loved you most，endowed you with the finest clothing and showed great care over you． Now that I’m dying，will you follow me and keep me company?” “No way！”replied the fourth wife and she walked away without another word．
The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant‘s heart． The sad merchant then asked the third wife，“I have loved you so much for all my life． Now that I’m dying，will you follow me and keep me company? ” “No！”replied the third wife．“Life is so good over here！I’m going to remarry when you die！”The merchant’s heart sank and turned cold．
He then asked the second wife，“I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me out． Now I need your help again． When I die，will you follow me and keep me company?” “I’m sorry，I can‘t help you out this time！”replied the second wife．“At the very most，I can only send you to your grave．”The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated⁴．
Then a voice called out：“I‘ll leave with you． I’ll follow you no matter where you go．”The merchant looked up and there was his first wife． She was so skinny，almost like she suffered from malnutrition⁵． Greatly grieved，the merchant said，“I should have taken much better care of you while I could have！”
Actually，we all have four wives in our lives．
The fourth wife is our body． No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it

1 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

2 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

3 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。