英语沙龙：事情并不总是看起来的那样（在线收听）

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night

in the home of a wealthy family.

The family was rude

and refused to let the angels stay in the guest room.

Instead，the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor,

the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.

When the younger angel asked why,

the older angel replied,

“Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor,

but very hospitable farmer and his wife.

After sharing what little food they had,

the couple let the angels sleep in their bed

where they could have a good night’s rest.

When the sun came up the next morning

the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears.

Their only cow,

whose milk had been their sole income,

lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and accused the older angel:

“How could you have let this happen?

The first man has everything,

yet you helped him;

the second family has little

but is willing to share everything,

and you let the cow die.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem.”

the older angel replied.

“When we stayed in the basement of the mansion,

I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall.

Since the owner was so obsessed with greed

and unwilling to share his good fortune,

I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it.”

“Then last night as we slept in the farmers’ bed,

the angel of death came for his wife.

I gave him the cow instead.

Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Sometimes that is exactly what happens

when things don’t turn out the way they should.

If you have faith,

you just need to trust

that every outcome is always to your advantage.

You might not know it until some time later...