Hegrewup,handsomeforhismisfortune.Afavoritewithhisfellowstudents,hemighthavebeenclasspresident,butforthat.Hedevelopedagift,atalentforliteratureandmusic.
「Butyoumightminglewithotheryoungpeople,」hismotherreprovedhim,butfeltakindnessinherheart.
Theboy』sfatherhadasessionwiththefamilyphysician「Couldnothingbedone?」
「IbelieveIcouldgraftonapairofouterears,iftheycouldbeprocured,」thedoctordecided.Whereuponthesearchbeganforapersonwhowouldmakesuchasacrificeforayoungman.
Twoyearswentby.Oneday,hisfathersaidtotheson,「You』regoingtothehospital,son.MotherandIhavesomeonewhowilldonatetheearsyouneed.Butit』sasecret.」
Theoperationwasabrilliantsuccess,andanewpersonemerged.Histalentsblossomedintogenius,andschoolandcollegebecameaseriesoftriumphs.
Laterhemarriedandenteredthediplomaticservice.Oneday,heaskedhisfather,「Whogavemetheears?Whogavemesomuch?Icouldneverdoenoughforhimorher.」
「Idonotbelieveyoucould,」saidthefather,「buttheagreementwasthatyouarenottoknownotyet.」
Theyearskepttheirprofoundsecret,butthedaydidcome.Oneofthedarkestdaysthateverpassesthroughason.Hestoodwithhisfatheroverhismother』scasket.Slowly,tenderly,thefatherstretchedforthahandandraisedthethick,reddishbrownhairtorevealthemotherhadnoouterears.
「Mothersaidshewasgladsheneverletherhairbecut,」hisfatherwhisperedgently,「andnobodyeverthoughtmotherlessbeautiful,didthey?」
「我可以看看我的寶寶嗎？」初為人母的她開心地問道。
當裹著的嬰兒放到她臂彎裡，她掀開裹著嬰兒的布，在看到他的小臉時，她不禁倒吸了一口氣。醫生快速地轉過身，透過醫院的高層窗戶向外看去。嬰兒生下來就沒有耳朵。
時間證明嬰兒的聽力毫無問題，只是有損他的相貌。一天，當他匆匆從學校跑回家，撲向母親的懷抱時，她歎了口氣，意識到他的生活注定會受到一連串的打擊。
他脫口訴說遭到的不幸：「一個男孩，一個大個子男孩……他喊我怪胎。」
他長大了，雖然不幸但還是長得挺帥。頗受同學的歡迎，要不是有缺陷，他很可能當了班長。他對文學和音樂很有天賦和潛質。
「但你可能會和其他年輕人一樣。」母親責備地說，但從心底裡覺得很欣慰。
男孩的父親與家庭醫生商量……「難道真無法補救嗎？」
「我認為可以移植一雙外耳，如果能夠找到的話。」醫生做了決定，於是他們開始尋求一個願意為這個年輕人做出犧牲的人。
兩年過去了。一天，父親對兒子說，「孩子，你要住院了。我和你媽找到願意為你捐獻耳朵的人了。但要求保密。」
手術獲得了巨大成功，一個新人誕生了。他的潛力發展成一個天才，在中學和大學都取得了一連串的成功。
後來他結婚了，進入外交行業工作。一天，他問父親：「是誰給我的耳朵？誰給了我那麼多？我做多少都無法報答他（她）。」
「我也這樣認為，」父親說，「但是協議上說你不能知道……還不到時候。」
他們的秘密遵守了很多年，但這天終於來了，這也是兒子度過的最黑暗的日子。他和父親站在母親的棺材前，慢慢地，輕柔地，父親向前伸出一隻手，掀開母親濃密的、紅褐色的頭髮：母親竟然沒有耳朵！
「你母親說過她很高興，她從不理髮，」父親輕柔地低聲說，「但沒人覺得母親沒以前美麗，是吧？」
TheDifferenceaTeacherCanMake她的關心改變了男孩的一生
Steve,atwelve-year-oldboywithalcoholicparents,wasabouttobelostforever,bytheU.S.educationsystem.Remarkably,hecouldread,yet,inspiteofhisreadingskills,Stevewasfailing.Hehadbeenfailingsincefirstgrade,ashewaspassedonfromgradetograde.Stevewasabigboy,lookingmorelikeateenagerthanatwelveyearold,yet,StevewentunnoticeduntilMissWhite.
MissWhitewasasmiling,young,beautifulredhead,andStevewasinlove!Forthefirsttimeinhisyounglife,hecouldn』ttakehiseyesoffhisteacher;yet,stillhefailed.Heneverdidhishomework,andhewasalwaysintroublewithMissWhite.Hisheartwouldbreakunderhersharpwords,andwhenhewaspunishedforfailingtoturninhishomework,hefeltjustmiserable!Still,hedidnotstudy.
Inthemiddleofthefirstsemesterofschool,theentireseventhgradewastestedforbasicskills.Stevehurriedthroughhistests,andcontinuedtodreamofotherthings,asthedayworeon.Hisheartwasnotinschool,butinthewoods,whereheoftenescapedalone,tryingtoshutoutthesights,soundsandsmellsofhisalcoholichome.Noonecheckedonhimtoseeifhewassafe.Nooneknewhewasgone,becausenoonewassoberenoughtocare.Oddly,Stevenevermissedadayofschool.
Oneday,MissWhite』simpatientvoicebrokeintohisdaydreams.
「Steve!」Startled,heturnedtolookather.
「Payattention!」
StevelockedhisgazeonMissWhitewithadolescentadoration,asshebegantogooverthetestresultsfortheseventhgrade.
「Youalldidprettywell,」shetoldtheclass,「exceptforoneboy,anditbreaksmyhearttotellyouthis,but」Shehesitated,pinningStevetohisseatwithasharpstare,hereyessearchinghisface.
「Thesmartestboyintheseventhgradeisfailingmyclass!」
ShejuststaredatSteve,astheclassspunaroundforagoodlook.Stevedroppedhiseyesandcarefullyexaminedhisfingertips.
Afterthat,itwaswar!!Stevestillwouldn'tdohishomework.Evenasthepunishmentsbecamemoresevere,heremainedstubborn.
「Justtryit!ONEWEEK!」Hewasunmoved.
「You』resmartenough!You』llseeachange!」Nothingfazedhim.
「Giveyourselfachance!Don』tgiveuponyourlife!」Nothing.
「Steve!Please!Icareaboutyou!」
Wow!Suddenly,Stevegotit!!Someonecaredabouthim?Someone,totallyunattainableandperfect,CAREDABOUTHIM!
Stevewenthomefromschool,thoughtful,thatafternoon.Walkingintothehouse,hetookonelookaround.Bothparentswerepassedout,invariousstagesofundress,andthestenchwasoverpowering!He,quickly,gathereduphiscampinggear,ajarofpeanutbutter,aloafofbread,abottleofwater,andthistimehisschoolbooks.Grimfacedanddeterminedheheadedforthewoods.