Where is happiness-[Bulgaria] Irene Palin
Every day, three shepherds drove their livestock to the forest far away from the village, and muddy spring water slowly gushed out from fallen leaves and grass.
A child said, "shall we clean the spring?"
"Well, let's do it!" His two friends responded happily.
The next day, they brought picks and shovels, and first dug a deep ditch to discharge the sewage from weeds and rotten leaves. When the sewage accumulated on the ground is drained, a clear and transparent spring water gushes out from under the sand in the swamp. The children were ecstatic. They brought stones from far away and built the swamp into a neat spring well.
The children sat happily and contentedly on the slate beside the spring and looked at the clear spring. Water is as clear as a mirror. When the water in the well was slowly filled, they led it into a ditch to flow out.
Suddenly, a very beautiful girl appeared in the forest, with hazel braids dragging to her heels and a white wreath on her head.
"Hello, children!" She said, "May I drink the water from your well?"
"Drink!" The children replied, "Let's clean it up for everyone to drink."
The girl bent down and scooped water from the well three times with her snow-white hands.
"I drank three sips of water for the health of each of you ..." She said with a smile.
After a short silence, she added, "You have done a good deed, and I am very grateful to you! And on behalf of the forest, the animals in the forest, the birds flying in the forest and the flowers growing here, thank you! I wish you a long and healthy life! Goodbye! I wish you happiness ... "
The children looked at each other and jumped for joy.
"You want us to be happy," a child said to her, "but tell me, where is happiness?"
"You know, we will meet here again in ten years. If you didn't know where happiness was then, I would tell you the secret. "
The girl disappeared as suddenly as she appeared.
"Then let's go our separate ways and explore happiness," one child suggested. "I'm going to the east."
"I'm going west." Another said.
"I will stay in the village. I think happiness lies here."
So the three of them left separately.
Ten years later, they came back here. Now they have become three strong and healthy boys. They looked at each other and were filled with joy. Jing Quan, as before, braved the cold water quietly. The surrounding trees are flourishing, casting a heavy shadow on the earth. There are many tree-lined paths leading to all directions, all of which are the paths taken by people who come here to fetch water or quench their thirst. The wet sand was covered with traces of bird's claws, and the grass left footprints of wild elephants and antelopes.
Seeing all this, the young man said excitedly, "Although our labor is not great, what benefits does it bring!"
They sat on the slate they had sat on before and decided to wait for the beautiful girl here.
"Do you know?" The first young man said, "After we broke up, I went to the city and went to school. I have worked hard and now I have become a doctor. "
"So you already know where happiness is?" The friend asked.
"This is a very universal truth. I cured the suffering patients, and when they recovered, I felt happy. "
The second said, "I didn't refuse any job." I worked on the railway, served as a waiter on the ship, worked as a fireman and gardener. Labor is justified, and I feel happy when I know that my labor is beneficial to people. "
"What about you?" They turned to the young man who stayed in the village for help.
"I cultivated the fields, and food grew in the fields. I am glad to see that my labor has not been in vain. "
Suddenly, like ten years ago, a beautiful girl appeared in front of them. She hasn't changed at all. She still has hazel braids, blue eyes and a wreath on her head.
She looks so beautiful, simple and gentle.
"I'm glad you kept your promise." The girl said, "I have heard everything, and your words have been confirmed: you understand that happiness lies in labor that is beneficial to human beings."
"Who are you?" Three people asked in unison.
"I am the daughter of wisdom." She said that and disappeared.