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Perseverance can make miracles happen
An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money left.
When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, “Only a miracle can save him now”, the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her piggy bank from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.
Then she slipped out through the back door and made her way six blocks to the local drugstore. She took a quarter from her bank and placed it on the glass counter.
“And what do you want?” asked the pharmacist. “It’s for my little brother,” the girl answered back. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle.”
“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
“His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?”
“We don’t sell miracles here, child. I’m sorry,” the pharmacist said, smiling sadly at the little girl.
“Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
In the shop was a well-dressed customer. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with her eyes welling up. “He’s really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought my savings”.
“How much do you have?” asked the man. “One dollar and eleven cents, but I can try and get some more,” she answered very quietly.
“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents—the exact price of a miracle for your little brother.”
He took her money in one hand and held her hand with the other. He said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long before Andrew was home again and doing well.
“That surgery,” her mom whispered, “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”
The little girl smiled. She knew exactly how much the miracle cost...one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.
Perseverance can make miracles happen!
【助讀詞匯】
◇miracle n.奇跡
◇closet n.(壁)櫥
◇slip vi.滑(倒)；溜走；跌落
◇pharmacist n. 藥劑師
◇stoop vi. 彎腰
◇neuro-surgery n. 腦神經科
◇coincidence n.巧合，巧事
◇perseverance n.堅 毅
【參考譯文】
堅持能讓奇跡發生
一個8歲的小孩在聽她父母談論她的弟弟。她只知道她的弟弟病得很嚴重，家里沒剩多少錢了。
她聽到爸爸對哭泣的媽媽說，“現在只有奇跡才能救他了�！毙∨⒒氐椒块g，把她藏在櫥柜里的小豬存錢罐拿出來。她把錢全部倒在地板上，認真地數著。
然后，小女孩從后門悄悄溜出去，走過6個路口，來到當地的藥店。她拿出四分之一的錢，放在玻璃柜臺上。
“想要什么？“藥劑師問。”“我給我弟弟買，”女孩回答道�！八〉煤車乐兀蚁胭I一個奇跡�！�
“你說？”藥劑師問道。
“他叫安得努，他腦袋里長了一些很壞的東西，我爸爸說只有奇跡才能救他。請問，奇跡多少錢一個？”
“我們這里不賣奇跡，孩子，對不起�！彼巹⿴煴瘋貙π∨⑿χ�。
“我這里有錢，可以買。如果不夠，我可以想辦法去多弄點錢，請告訴我，一個奇跡要多少錢�！�
藥店里有個穿著得體的顧客。他彎下腰問小女孩，“你的弟弟需要一個什么樣的奇跡呢？”
“我不知道，”女孩回答道，眼里含著淚水。“他真的病得很嚴重，媽媽說他需要動手術。但是爸爸說我們支付不起，所以我把我的錢都帶來了。”
“你有多少錢？”男人問道。“1美元11分，但是我可以去多弄點。”女孩輕輕地回答。
“好巧，”男人微笑著說道，“1美元11分，剛好就是你弟弟需要的奇跡的價格。”
他一手拽著小女孩的錢，一手牽著女孩的手，說，“帶我去你住的地方，我想看看你弟弟，見見你的父母。也許我有你要的奇跡�！�
那個穿著得體的男人是卡爾頓·阿蒙斯特恩，外科醫生，專攻腦科神經。這次手術免費，并且安得努很快就康復回家了。
“那個手術，”女孩母親輕聲地說，“真是個奇跡，不知道這個奇跡值多少錢？”
小女孩微笑著。她知道這個奇跡的價格……1美元11分……再加上一個小孩真誠的信仰。
堅持能讓奇跡發生。
【人生啟迪】
小女孩，因為純真，因為堅持，為她的弟弟贏得了一個奇跡。在看到這個故事之前，你是否相信一美元十一分就能夠買得到一個奇跡？請相信我們的生活里真的有奇跡，只要你去相信、去努力。
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