Real Beauty, Real Treasure
& Real Love
“Can I see my baby?” the happy
new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the
fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly
and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance
that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into
his mother’s arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of
heartbreaks. He blurted out the tragedy. “A boy, a big boy … called me a freak.”
He grew up, handsome for his
misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class
president, but for that. He developed a gift, a talent for literature and
music. “But you might mingle with other young people,” his mother reproved him,
but felt a kindness in her heart. The boy’s father had a session with the
family physician. Could nothing be done? “I believe I could graft on a pair of
outer ears, if they could be procured,” the doctor decided.
Where upon the search began for
a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by.
Then, “You are going to the hospital, Son. Mother and I have someone who will
donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret,” said the father. The operation
was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into
genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs. Later he married
and entered the diplomatic service. “But I must know!” He urged his father,
“Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.”
“I do not believe you could,”
said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know… not yet.” The
years kept their profound secret, but the day did come.
One of the darkest days that a
son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket. Slowly,
tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown
hair to reveal that the mother had no outer ears. “Mother said she was glad she
never let her hair be cut,” he whispered gently, “and nobody ever thought
Mother less beautiful, did they?”
LESSON LEARNT
Real beauty lies not in the
physical appearance, but in the heart. Real treasure lies not in what that can
be seen, but what that cannot be seen. Real love lies not in what is done and
known, but in what that is done but not known.
