What You Are IS as Important as What You Do

lyws519

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City. My friend and proud father Bobby Lewis was taking his two little boys to play miniature golf. He walked up to the fellow at the ticket counter and said, \"How much is it to get in?\"

　　The young man replied, \"$3.00 for you and $3.00 for any kid who is older than six. We let them in free if they are six or younger. How old are they?\"

　　Bobby replied, \"The lawyer's three and the doctor is seven, so I guess I owe you $6.00.\"

　　The man at the ticket counter said, \"Hey, Mister, did you just win the lottery or something? You could have saved yourself three bucks. You could have told me that the older one was six; I wouldn't have known the difference.\" Bobby replied, \"Yes, that may be true, but the kids would have known the difference.\"

　　As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, \"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying.\" In challenging times when ethics are more important than ever before, make sure you set a good example for everyone you work and live with.

精美译文：
　　这是奥克拉荷马城的一个晴朗的星期六下午。我的朋友巴比·路易斯，一位令人敬佩的父亲，带着他的两个小儿子去玩迷你高尔夫。他走向售票处，向售票员问道：“进去需要花多少钱？”

　　那个年轻人回答道：“你，3美元；6岁以上的儿童，3美元。6岁以下的儿童免费。他们多大了？”

　　巴比回答：“律师，3岁；医生，7岁。所以我想我应该付给你6美元。”

　　那个售票的说：“嘿，先生，你是刚赢了彩票还是怎么了？你本可以省下3美元的。你可以告诉我，最大的6岁。我根本看不出来。”巴比回答：“对，那可能行得通，但是这些孩子会知道这其中的差别。”

　　就像拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生说的那样：“你本身要比你所说的话重要。”在这个道德比以往任何时候都重要的年代里，你最好给和你一起你生活和工作的人树立一个良好的榜样。