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[上文載於本刊第430期28-29頁]
最後，我再來講一個很了不起又發人深省的故事：
有隻金絲雀跟一名老婦相依為命。老婦很珍愛這隻鳥。無論什麼飲料，牠都歡喜湊近啜上兩口。老婦的姪女正住隔壁，每晚都會過來探視姨母是否安然無恙。
有天晚上，下著大雨，姪女心忖姨母應該不至有事，就不過去，而和丈夫輕輕鬆鬆地在壁爐邊烤火談心。不一會兒，他倆聽見窗子處傳來連續的輕叩聲，而且聲音越來越大。姪女近前一看，發現姨母的金絲雀兀自啼叫不絕地用力撲窗。小鳥啄到氣力用盡，終於不支，歙然扑地而死。
因此，他倆火速趕往姨母住處，發現老人正倒臥血泊，昏迷不醒。姪女立刻將老人馳往醫院急救。而這隻小鳥，為了救主，卻冒險獻出了它的生命。
史蒂芬妮‧拉蘭寫道：
「仁慈乃普世的情操，它是一切生命中最珍貴的部份。我們是否行仁用慈，可使我們乃至他人，如生在天堂，或活在地獄。」
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[Continued from VBS #430 pp.28-29]
I shall now relate one final, remarkable, and inspiring story:
There was a canary that lived with an elderly lady. That elder lady was very fond of her pet bird. The bird would sip whatever beverage that lady was having. That lady’s niece who lived next to her would check on her aunt every night to see if she was fine.
One night, it was raining. Assuming that her aunt was okay, she did not go to visit her, but relaxed by the fireside with her husband instead. A while later, they heard a persistent tapping at the window which became louder and louder. When the niece went to see what was causing it, she found her aunt’s canary chirping and beating hard at the window. That little bird pecked till it collapsed and died from exhaustion.
Thereupon, the niece and her husband ran over to the aunt’s house and found the elder lady lying unconscious on the ground in a pool of blood. Her niece rushed her to the hospital and managed to save her aunt. The little bird sacrificed its life in a desperate attempt to get help.
Stephanie Laland wrote:
“Kindness is universal. It is a most precious part of existence and by choosing to exercise it or not, we make life heaven or hell for ourselves and our fellow beings.”
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