夾玩具恐龍的男人

I was on my way out of the driveway when my son came running to the car. His face was radiant with joy when he said: “I have something for you， Dad.”

“You do?” I asked， slightly annoyed by the delay. He opened his hands and showed me the best a five-year-old boy could imagine. “I found it myself.” In his small hands was a marble， an old racecar， a broken 1)elastic， and various other items I have since forgotten. “Here， Dad， these are for you.”

He was 2)bursting with pride.

“I don’t have time right now， my boy. I am going to the mall to get a few things for Mum. Can’t you put them in the garage for me?”

His smile faded， and at the very instant I put the car back 3)in gear， I felt my conscience 4)nagging me. When I came back home， I asked my son: “Where are those toys you had for me?”

“I thought you didn’t want them， so I gave them to Adam.” His playmate Adam lives on our street， and I could easily imagine that the little guy had received the treasures with much more enthusiasm than I had showed my son. My son’s action hurt me， but I deserved it—not just because it showed me how thoughtlessly I had treated him， but also because it made me remember another little boy.

It was the boy’s big sister’s birthday， and he had been given some money so he could buy her a present. He browsed through the toyshop for a long time—the present had to be something special. Finally， he found it: A chewing gum machine filled with brightly coloured 5)bubble gum. He was very anxious to show it to her as soon as he came home， but he firmly withstood the temptation.

Later， when all the big sister’s friends had arrived， she began opening the presents. She cried with joy for every present she opened—and with every cry the boy became more and more shy. The eight-year-old girls had spent much more money on the presents than he could afford. Suddenly his present seemed small and insignificant. But he still waited anxiously to see her joy when she opened his present.

At last she opened his present， and he saw how disappointed she was， indeed embarrassed. In order not to lose face among her friends she could not thank him too 6)exuberantly for the present. She gave her friends a know-all smile. “Thanks，” she said to him. “It’s just what I wanted.” The rest of the girls desperately tried not to giggle.

The boy was hurt and confused. His otherwise beautiful present now looked like the cheap plastic thing it actually was. He went out in the garden and started to cry.

Soon after his mother showed up and， in a soft voice， asked him what was wrong. He explained it to her as best as he could.

She listened， and then went inside the house. Shortly after， the big sister came out to him. He could see by the look on her face that she had been told to do it， but her sincere regret showed him that she had not hurt him on purpose. She actually liked the chewing gum machine. He said that he could understand that， and he actually could. She was only trying to be nice to him.

Now the story repeated itself. Instead of my big sister and me it was my son who had to decide for himself whether or not 7)it really was the thought that counts. And my reaction would have a great influence on his decision.

I gave my children some money at Christmas so they could buy gifts themselves. It was very difficult for them to keep quiet with what they had bought for me， especially for my son. Every single day he asked me if I could guess what he had bought for me.

On Christmas Evening he demanded that I opened his present first. I unwrapped it and looked—it was indeed the most wonderful gift I had ever been given. But I did not look at it with my 33-year-old experienced eyes， either. Instead I looked at it as an anxious child of five would look at it.

The gift was a small green plastic dinosaur. My son quickly showed me why this dinosaur was something special: The claws on the forelegs formed a clip so I could fasten it on my clothes. His eyes sparkled with expectancy and love—of the kind you only see in a child’s look.

I knew how difficult it must have been for him to find a gift that showed his feelings for me in the best possible way. So I thanked him in his own 8)language. I fastened the dinosaur on my jacket and talked about how “cool” it was， and， yes， he was absolutely right—I loved it.

So the next time you see a grown man with a primitive paper tie or a “cool” tattoo of a 9)caterpillar， do not shrug your shoulders out of pity for him. If you tell him that he looks foolish he may answer: “That may be， but I have a five-year-old son who thinks I am the world’s greatest dad， and I would rather wear his present than own all the 10)riches in the world.”

And that is why I walk around with a green dinosaur on my jacket.

我正把車駛離車道，這時我兒子跑過車這頭來。他滿臉洋溢著喜悅，說道：“爸爸，我有東西給你?！?/p>

“是嗎？”我問道，對這一耽擱有點不高興。他攤開雙手，給我看一個五歲男孩能想到的最好的東西。“我自己找的?！彼囊浑p小手里有一顆彈珠，一部舊玩具車，一根斷開的橡皮帶以及各種各樣我后來想不起的東西。“拿著，爸爸，這些都是給你的?！?/p>

他一臉的自豪。

“兒子，我現在沒有時間。我要去商場給媽媽買些東西。替我把這些東西放進車庫好嗎？”

他臉上的笑容消失了。就在那時，我重新啟動了汽車，感覺心里涌起了一陣揮之不去的內疚感?；氐郊液笪覇杻鹤樱骸澳憬o我的那些玩具在哪呢？”

“我以為你不想要它們，所以我給亞當了?！彼耐姘閬啴敻覀冏⊥粭l街，我一下就能想象出那個小男孩收到那些珍寶時的神情，肯定比我剛才對兒子表現出來的要熱情得多。兒子這一舉動傷害了我，但我活該——不僅因為這件事顯出我如此不顧及他的感受，還因為事情令我想起了另外一個小男孩。

那天是男孩他大姐姐的生日。別人給了他一些錢，所以他能買份禮物給姐姐。想著得送一份特別的禮物，他在玩具店看了又看，逛了很久，最后找到了—— 一個裝滿色彩鮮艷的口香糖的小機器。他一回到家就迫不及待地想要給她看，但他強忍住了。

后來，當大姐姐的朋友都來了，大姐姐開始拆禮物。她每打開一個禮物就開心地驚叫一番——每一聲驚叫都讓男孩覺得愈發羞怯?！?br>