Recently, I happened to hear a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the daughter prepared to leave.

They hugged and the mother said "I love you and I wish you enough."They kissed and the daughter left.

    The mother walked over to the window where I sat. Standing there, I could see she was going to cry. I tried not to disturb her but she welcomed me by asking "Have you ever said goodbye to someone knowing it would be forever?"

  "Yes," I replied. "But may I know why this is the final goodbye?"

  "I am ill and she lives so far away. It's highly possible that the next trip back will be for my funeral(葬礼)"she said.

  "When you were saying goodbye, I heard you say 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?"

  "That's a wish that has been handed down from past generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." She paused for amoment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled evenmore.

  "When we say 'I wish you enough', we want the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to bewith them". Then turning to me, she shared the following:

  "I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright."

  "I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more."

    A young queen was given a magic box by a wizard (男巫). The box would bring happiness to the whole country whenever it was opened in a place full of the spirit of generosity (慷慨).

    The queen traveled all over the country, looking for the most generous people. If she collected them all, she would open the magic box. The queen felt disappointed because nothing special happened.

    One day when the queen decided to return to her palace, she saw a poor little boy begging. She would like to give the boy some money, but she didn't have any with her. So the boy asked her if she could give him the old box. Then he could sell it for a little money. At first the queen hesitated (犹豫), because she had been told the box had magical powers. But seeing how poor the boy was, she gave it to him. The boy took the box and opened it.

    Immediately, all the most wonderful things one could imagine started flying out of the box and a voice said, "Why look for it in others? Goodness always starts in yourself. "

    While enjoying all the wonders of the magic box, the queen learned to set an example to others, and she became the best queen ever in history.

    A girl was walking in the woods when she found two weak birds. She took them home and put them in a small cage (鸟笼). She took good care of them. The birds grew strong. Every morning, they greeted her with a beautiful song. The girl felt great love for the birds. She wanted them to sing for her forever.

    One day, the girl left their cage door open. The bigger of the two birds flew out. The girl watched as he rose high into the sky. She was afraid that he would fly away and she would never see him again. As he flew close, she caught him in her hand and held him tightly. She was happy. Suddenly, she felt the bird go limp (无力 ). She opened her hand. The bird was dead! Her love had stolen life from the beautiful songbird.

    The other bird was pushing against the bars (条) of the cage. She could see how much he wanted to be free. She took him out of the cage and gently tossed him into the air. Would the bird fly away? She could hardly bear to watch. But the bird just wanted to stretch its wings. He flew around the girl twice and then came to rest on her shoulder.

    The girl watched the bird with joy in her heart. She wasn't worried anymore. She wanted the bird to be happy. The bird sat by the girl's ear and sang the sweetest song she had ever heard.

    The best way to keep love is to give it wings.

    One day a farmer took his horse to the town for sale and hoped to bring some money home. On his way he saw an old woman. She looked weak, so the farmer carried her on his horse. Before the woman said goodbye, she gave the farmer a ring. She told him that the ring had magic power and could make any dream come true. But he could make only one wish.

    Later the farmer sold his horse and began to walk home. Then he met an old friend and went to his friend's house to take a rest. After drinking some wine, the farmer talked to his friend about the ring. The friend asked him to drink more wine to celebrate his good luck. The farmer drank too much and then fell asleep. The friend took the ring away and put another one in its place. After the farmer woke up and left, the man took out the ring and said, "Fill the house with gold." 

    Lots of gold fell down like a heavy rain and killed the man. When the farmer got home, he thought he should wait until his children grew older to decide what wish was the best. So he hid it and forgot about it after several years.