Real beauty

When a first-time father cuddled① his newborn son, he immediately noticed the baby’s ears conspicuously standing out from his head. He expressed his concern to the nurse that some children might taunt② his child, calling him names like “Dumbo③”. A doctor examined the baby and reassured the new dad that his son was healthy — the ears presented only a minor cosmetic④ problem.
But the nervous father persisted. He wondered if the child might suffer psychological effects of ridicule, or if they should consider plastic surgery⑤.
The nurse assured him that it was really no problem, and he should just wait to see if the boy grows into his ears.
The father finally felt more optimistic⑥ about his child, but now he worried about his wife’s reaction to those large, protruding ears. She had delivered by cesarean⑦ section, and had not yet seen the child.
“She doesn’t take things as easily as I do,” he said to the nurse.
By this time, the new mother was settled in the recovery room and ready to meet her new baby. The nurse went along with the dad to lend some support in case this inexperienced mother became upset about her baby’s large ears.
The infant was swaddled⑧ in a receiving blanket with his head covered for the short trip through the chilly air-conditioned corridor. The baby was placed in his mother’s arms, who eased the blanket back so that she could gaze upon her child for the first time.
She took one look at her baby’s face and looked to her husband and gasped⑨, “Oh, Honey! Look! He has your ears!”
No problem with Mom. She married those ears... and she loves the man to whom they are attached.
The poet Khalil Gibran said, “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” It’s hard to see the ears when you’re looking into the light.

① cuddle v. & n. 搂抱，拥抱
② taunt v. 嘲笑
③ Dumbo 呆堡（动画片《小飞象》中的主人公，耳朵很大）
④ cosmetic a. 美容的，装饰性的
⑤ plastic surgery 整形手术
⑥ optimistic a. 乐观的
⑦ cesarean a. 剖腹产的 n. 剖腹产
⑧ swaddle v. 用襁褓包裹，束缚
⑨ gasp v.（吃惊地）吸一口气

真正的美丽
他刚刚做了父亲，抱着刚出生的儿子，突然发现孩子的耳朵是很明显的招风耳。他跟护士说他很担心将来其他孩子会嘲笑他儿子，喊他“呆堡”一类的外号。大夫为婴儿做了检查后向这位父亲保证，他的儿子很健康，耳朵凸出仅仅有些有碍观瞻罢了。

不过这位情绪紧张的父亲不肯罢休。他担心孩子将来会因为受到奚落而影响心理健康，不知有没有必要做个整形手术。

护士也向他保证真的没有关系，等孩子长大可能就好了。

做父亲的终于对孩子有了些信心，不过他接着开始担心妻子见到这副又大又凸出的耳朵会作何反应。她刚刚经历剖腹产，还没有见过孩子。

他对护士说：“她可不像我那样容易接受。”

就在这时，刚刚成为母亲的妻子已经被安顿在护理病房，准备要见自己的孩子了。护士随这位父亲一起进了病房，万一这位无甚经验的母亲因为孩子的大耳朵而焦急，她可以帮帮忙。

婴儿被裹在接生毯里，头也包了起来，以防在经过吹着空调的走廊时受风。母亲抱住了婴孩，小心翼翼地把毯子移开，她终于可以第一次好好端详一下孩子了。

她看看婴儿的脸，又看看她的丈夫，感叹道：“哦，亲爱的！看！他的耳朵和你的一模一样！”

这位母亲什么事都没有。她嫁给了这副耳朵的主人……而且她深爱着长着这样一副耳朵的男人。

诗人纪伯伦曾经说过，“美不呈现在脸上，美是心灵之光。”你望向了心灵之光，当然很难注意到耳朵的样子了。

爱一个人就会爱他的全部，这种爱包容着他的所有好与不好，美与不美。爱了，就会是美的。