This is a powerful story, especially today.
"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.
"You might mingle with other young people," his
mother
reproved him,
but felt a tenderness 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. Whereupon 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 ever pass through a son. 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?"
Real beauty lies not in the physical appearance, but
in the heart.
Real treasure lies not in what can be seen, but what
cannot be seen.
Real love lies not in what is done and known, but in
what is done but
not known.
Author Unknown