A man planted a rose and watered it carefully. Before it blossomed (开花), he checked it. He 1 the bud (花蕾) that would soon blossom, but he also saw the thorns (刺) upon the stem (茎). He thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a(n) 2 with so many sharp thorns?" Then he didn't want to3 the rose. And just before it was ready to blossom, it 4.
So is it with many people. In everyone's mind, there is a rose. The good qualities that were planted in us at birth always 5 among the thorns of our mistakes. Many of us 6 ourselves and see only the thorns, the mistakes. We are7, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We gradually forget to water the good within us, and finally it dies. We never realize our8 side.
Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must 9 it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can own is to be able to pass the thorns and10 the rose within them. However, only a few people can realize it.
