Henry was going through a very hard time. His wife passed away one month ago. He thought his life became meaningless. Henry sat in his house sadly and did nothing.
One day, Henry's neighbor, Lisa, saw him from her yard. She hadn't seen him outside for several days! She wanted to help Henry. Then she had an idea.
Lisa said to Henry, "Hello, Henry! Just look at this fence(篱笆)between our houses. It is falling apart. You are a strong man. Can you help fix this fence?"
After hearing Lisa's words, Henry was a little angry. He didn't want to help her. He thought he was the one who needed help. He thought Lisa was kind of rude. However, he agreed to help Lisa because Lisa was too old to fix the fence herself.
Henry spent a few days fixing the fence. When he finished, Lisa thanked him. Henry gave her a smile. It was his first time to smile after his wife passed away.
"What a wonderful job! Could you please paint it for me?" Lisa said to him. Henry thought for a while and agreed. Then he began to paint the fence in the hot sun. As his neighbors passed by and saw Henry, they all praised Henry for what he was doing. Henry felt happy and proud. He felt his life was not meaningless any more.
Henry finally understood Lisa's purpose. She wanted Henry to know that staying busy could help him forget his sorrow(悲痛). Henry thanked Lisa a lot.
