Observe a child; any one will do. You will see that not a day passes in which he does not find something or other to make him happy, though he may be in tears the next moment. Then look at a man; any one of us will do. You will notice that weeks and months can pass in which any day is like the last, uneventful, boring. Indeed, most men are as miserable2 as sinners3, though they are too bored to sin—perhaps their sin is their indifference. But it is true that they so seldom smile that we forget this facial expression and it surprises us when they do. And even then a man can not smile like a child, for a child smiles with his eyes, whereas a man smiles with his lips alone. It is not a smile; but a grin4; something to do with5 humor, but little to do with happiness. And then, as anyone can see, there is a point (but who can define that point?) when a man becomes an old man, and then he will smile again.
It would seem that happiness is something to do with simplicity6, and that it is the ability to take pleasure from the simplest things—such as a peach stone, for instance.
It is obvious that it is nothing to do with success. For Sir Henry Stewart was certainly successful. It is twenty years ago since he came down to our village from London, and bought a couple of old cottages, which he had knocked into one. He used his house as weekend refuge7. He was a lawyer. And the village followed his brilliant career with pride and joy.
I remember some ten years ago when he was made a King's Counsel8, Amos and I, seeing him get off the London train, went to congratulate him. We grinned with pleasure; he merely looked as miserable as though he'd received a penal9 sentence. It was the same when he was knighted; he never smiled a bit, he didn't even bother to10 celebrate by buying us all drinks at the “Blue Fox” bar. He took his success as a child does his medicine. And not one of his achievements brought even a ghost of a smile11 to his tired eyes.
I asked him one day, soon after he'd retired to work in his garden, what it was like to achieve all one's ambitions. He looked down at his roses and went on watering them. Then he said, “The only value in achieving one's ambition is that you then realize that they are not worth achieving.” Quickly he moved the conversation on to a more practical level, and within a moment we were back to a safe discussion on the weather. That was two years ago.
I recall this incident, for yesterday, I was passing his house, and had drawn up12 my cart13 just outside his garden wall. I had pulled in14 from the road for no other reason than to let a bus pass me. As I set there filling my pipe, I suddenly heard a shout of sheer15 joy come from the other side of the wall.
I peered over. There stood Sir Henry dancing around like a joyful child. Even when he observed my shocked face staring over the wall he did not seem put out or embarrassed16, but shouted for me to climb over.
“Come and see, Jan. Look! I have done it at last! I have done it at last!”
There he was, holding a small box of earth in his hand. I observed three tiny shoots out of it.
“And there were only three!” he said, his eyes laughing to heaven.
“Three what?” I asked.
“Peach stones”, he replied. “I've always wanted to make peach stones grow, even since I was a child, when I used to take them home after a party or as a man after a banquet17. And I used to plant them, and then forgot where I planted them. But now at last I have done it, and, what's more, I had only three stones, and there you are, one, two, three shoots,” he counted.
And Sir Henry ran off, calling for his wife to come and see his achievement—this achievement of simplicity.
仔细观察一个小孩，随便哪个小孩都行，你会发现，他每天都会发现一、两件令他快乐的事情，尽管过一会儿他可能会哭哭啼啼。再看看一个大人，我们中间任何人都行。你会发现，周复一周，月又一月，他总像是在重复头一天的生活，平淡无奇、枯燥无味。确实，大多数人都跟罪人一样苦恼难受，尽管他们太百无聊赖，连错都不犯——也许他们的冷漠就是他们的罪孽。真的， 他们难得一笑，我们几乎忘了他们笑的样子。他们偶尔笑了，只会让人觉得惊诧。即使在笑的时候，大人也不会像小孩那样，小孩用眼睛表示笑意，大人只用嘴唇。这实际上不是笑，只是咧咧嘴，表示一种心情，但跟快乐无关。随后，人人都能发现，人到了一定地步（但有谁又能解释要到哪种地步？），成了老人，他又会笑了。
看起来，幸福与简单有关。幸福是一种能从最简单的事物里——譬如说，桃核儿——获得快乐的能力。
幸福显然同成功毫不相干。因为亨利·斯图亚特爵士当然是个十分成功的人。20年前，他从伦敦来到我们村子，买了好几座旧村舍，推倒后建了一所大房子。他把这所房子当作度周末的场所。他是位律师。村里人都带着一种骄傲喜悦的心情关注着他那辉煌的职业生涯。
我记得，大约十年前他被任命为王室法律顾问，我和阿莫斯看见他走下伦敦来的火车便上前去表示祝贺。我们高兴地笑着；而他的表情却跟接到刑事判决书一样悲惨。他受封爵士时也是如此，没露一丝笑容，他甚至不屑于在“蓝狐狸”酒馆请我们大家喝一杯以示庆祝。他对待成功就像小孩吃药一样，任何一项成就都未能使他疲惫的眼里露出一丝笑意。
他退休以后在花园里干些闲活。有一天，我问他：一个人实现了一切雄心壮志是什么滋味？他低头看看他的玫瑰花，继续浇他的水。过了一会儿，他说：“实现雄心壮志的惟一价值是你发现它们都不值得追求。”他马上转移话题讨论更有实际意义的事情，我们很快谈论起无关紧要的天气问题。这是两年前的事了。
我想起这件事情，因为昨天我经过他家，把我的大车停在他花园的院墙外边。我从大路上把车开到他的花园外边只是为了给一辆公共汽车让路。我坐在车上装烟斗时，忽然听见院墙里传来一阵欣喜若狂的欢呼。
我向墙内张望。里面是亨利爵士，他手舞足蹈像个狂喜的孩子。即使当他发现了我在墙头张望、迷惑不解的面孔时，他似乎也毫不生气，也没难为情，而是大声呼喊叫我爬过墙去。
“快来看，杰。看呀！我终于成功了！我终于做到了！”
他站在那里，手里捧着一小盒土。我发现土里有三棵小芽。
“就只有这三颗！”他眉开眼笑地说道。
“三颗什么？”我问。
“桃核儿。”他回答，“我一直想种桃核儿，从小就想。那时我参加完舞会后老把桃核儿带回家，后来长大成人参加宴会后也是这样。我以前常常种桃核儿，过后就忘了把它们种在什么地方。现在，我总算成功了。还有，我只有三颗桃核儿。你瞧，1、2、3棵芽。”他数着。
亨利爵士跑了过去，叫他的妻子来看他的杰作——他的简单纯朴的成功之作。
1. peach stone 桃核儿
2. miserable adj. 痛苦的
3. sinner n. 罪人
4. grin n. 露齿而笑
5. something to do with 同…有关的事物
6. simplicity n. 简单，朴素
7. refuge n. 庇护所
8. counsel n. 法律顾问
9. penal adj. 刑事的；刑罚的
10. bother to do sth. 费心做某事
11. a ghost of a smile 一丝微笑，ghost n.一点点；隐约的一丝
12. draw up 停住
13. cart n. 大车，手推车
14. pull in 停靠
15. sheer adj. 全然的，纯粹的
16. 此处的put out意指“麻烦，打搅”。embarrass v. 使困窘，使局促不安
17. banquet n. 宴会