英语智慧背囊07-手捧花盆的男孩

The Boy with an Empty Pot 手捧空花盆的男孩
A long time ago, there was an old king.
The king did not have any son who could become king after him.
This made the king very sad.
Then he decided to find a boy in his country worthy to be his adopted son.
One day, he gave some seeds to all the boys in the country.
Then he proclaimed that whoever could grow the most beautiful flowers
from the seeds would become his adopted son and heir.
All the boys planted their seeds carefully.
They looked after their plants well.
One of the boys who planted the seeds was a boy named Yong Tu.
He looked after his seeds day after day.
However, one month passed and the seeds he had planted had not sprouted.
He asked his mother,
Why haven’t the seeds sprouted yet?”
Try changing the soil in the pot,”
suggested his mother.
Yong Tu followed his mother’s advice,
but the seed still did not sprout.
Not long after that, the day for selecting the adopted son arrived.
All the boys came out carrying their pots of flowering plants.
They were each eager to become the king’s adopted son.
When the king saw the boys carrying their potted plants
with beautiful flowers,
he did not appear happy.
Then he saw a boy by the side,
crying as he held an empty pot in his hands.
The king walked towards the boy and asked,
“Why are you carrying a pot without a flowering plant?”
Yong Tu answered,
"Every day I looked after the seeds carefully,
but the seeds did not sprout at all.”
The king smiled at Yong Tu.
Then he held the boy’s hand happily and announced loudly,
This is my adopted son.”
The other boys were surprised and they asked,
"Why did Your Majesty choose as your adopted son
the boy who brought a pot without a flower?
Didn’t Your Majesty want a boy
who could grow the most beautiful flowers?”
"My dear little boys,”
said the king,
"I gave all of you seeds that had been boiled.
Your seeds are not supposed to sprout at all.”
The rest of the boys bowed their heads in shame.
When the given seeds had not sprouted,
they had planted other seeds to produce the beautiful flowers.
Yong Tu was the only honest one.
Therefore, the king had chosen him as his adopted son.