A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art．Theyhad everything in their collection，from Picasso to Raphael．They wouldoften sit together and admire the great works of art．
When the Vietnam conflict broke out，the Son went to War．He wasvery courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier．The fa’ther was notified and grieved deeply for his only son．
About a month later，just before Christmas，there was a knock at the door．A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands．He said．”Sir。you don’t know me，but I am the soldier for whom yourson gave his life．He saved many lives that day，and he was carrying meto safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly．Heoften talked about you，and your love for art．”
The young man held out this package．
“I know this isn’t much．I’m not really a great artist，but I think vour son would have wanted you tO have this．”
The father opened the package．It was a portrait of his son，painted by the young man．He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting．The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears．He thanked the young man
“Oh，no sir，I could never repay what your son did for me．It’S a gift．”
The father hung the portrait over his mantle．Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected．The man died a few months later．There was to be a great auction of his paintings．Many influential people gathered，excited over seeing the great paintings and having an oppo~unity to purchase one for their collection．On me plat—form sat the painting of the son．
The auctioneer pounded his gavel．“We will start the bidding with this picture of the son．Who will bid for this picture？”There was silence．Then a voice in the back of the room shouted．“We want to see the fa—mous paintings．Skip this one．”But the auctioneer persisted．“Will somebody bid for this painting？Who will start the bidding？$100，$2007”Another voice angrily．“We didn’t come to see this painting．We came to see the Van Goghs，the Rembrandts．Get on with the real bids！”But still the auctioneer continued．“The son！The son！Who，11 take the son？”
Finally，a voice came from the very back of the room．It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son．“I’11 give$10 for the paint—ing．”Being a poor man，it was all he could afford．“We have$10．who will bid$207”“Give it to him for$10．Let’S see the masters．”
The crowd was becoming angry．They didn’t want the picture of the son．They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections．The auctioneer pounded the gavel．“Going once，twice，SOLD for$10 1”A man sitting on the second rOW shouted，“Now let’s get on with the lection！” The auctioneer laid down his gavel． “I’m sorry，the auction is over．When 1 was called to conduct thisauction，1 was told of a secret stipulation in the will．1 was not allowed toreveal that stipulation until this time．Only the painting of the son wouldbe auctioned．Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire es—tate，including the paintings．The man who took the son gets everything！” God gave his son 2，000 years ago to die on the cross．Much like theauctioneer，His message today is，“The son，the son．who’11 takethe son？”
Picasso n．毕加索
admire V．钦佩；称赞，夸奖；欣赏；对……不胜佩服
grieve V．使悲伤；使苦恼；悲伤；哀悼
portrait n．肖像，人像，绘画的人的形象
platform n．月台，坛，讲台
auctioneer n．拍卖人
estate n．不动产，阶层，时期儿 子
一位富人和他的儿子特别喜欢收藏珍贵的艺术品，他们的收藏种类繁多，从毕加索到拉菲尔，应有尽有。他们总是坐在一起，欣赏这些伟大的艺术品。
越南战争爆发后，儿子去了前线。他作战英勇，在战场上挽救另一个士兵时，献出了年轻的宝贵生命。父亲得知这个消息后，因家中唯一孩子的死去而悲恸万分。
一个月以后，就在圣诞节的前夕，有人突然来敲门。站在门口的是一位年轻人，他手上拿着一大包东西。他说：“先生，您不认识我，我就是您儿子用生命救出的那位士兵。那天，很多人都被他救了，他把我背到安全地后，不幸胸口中弹立即身亡。他时常说起您以及你们对艺术品的挚爱。” 年轻人递过他的包裹。 “我知道这不算什么，虽然我不是一个真正的艺术家，但我想您儿子一定希望您能拥有它。”
父亲打开包裹，里面是一幅他儿子的画像，是这位年轻人自己画的。他惊喜地发现儿子的个性被这个军人捕捉到了，儿子的双眸深深地吸引了他，他不禁热泪盈眶。老人对年轻人表示了感谢，还说要掏钱买这幅画。
“噢，不用，先生，对您儿子为我所做的一切，我无以回报，这是给您的礼物。”
画被父亲挂在壁炉的上方，只要有客人来访，他一定会先带他们看看儿子的画像，然后，再让他们参观他收藏的艺术品。几个月后，这位富人与世长辞。他的艺术品将被隆重拍卖，为此吸引来各界名流，他们希望有机会看到这些伟大的艺术品，同时也为自己的收藏增加一幅名画，他们感到兴奋异常。富人儿子的画像被放在拍卖桌上。
拍卖师敲打着木槌，说：“首先我们要拍卖这幅儿子的画像，谁愿意为这幅画像出个价？”台下寂静一片。这时，下面传来叫嚷声：“跳过这幅画像吧，我们要的是那些名作。”但拍卖师坚持着：“有谁愿为这幅画像出价吗？谁先来出个价？100美元？200美元？”台下又传来怒气冲冲的叫嚷：“我们来不是为了看这幅肖像的，而是要看凡·高、伦勃朗的艺术品的，还是请正式开始拍卖吧！”但拍卖师仍然在继续拍卖这幅画：“儿子！儿子！谁要这个儿子？”
终于，一个声音从屋子的最后边传了过来，这是在富翁和儿子家长期干活的花匠。“这幅画我出10美元。”因为贫穷，这已是他所有的积蓄。“10美元，有人愿出20美元吗？”“10美元就给他吧，还是让我们快点看到大师的作品。”“底价10美元，还有人出20美元吗？”
人群变得激愤起来，他们吵吵着说不要儿子的画像。他们要的是能为自己的收藏锦上添花的更有价值的投资。拍卖师重重地敲响了木槌：“一次，两次，10美元成交！”一个坐在第二排的男人大叫道：“现在我们可以开始拍卖有价值的收藏品了！”
拍卖师却放下了手中的木槌。
“对不起，拍卖到此结束。在接受这次拍卖任务时，我被告知富翁的遗嘱里有一个秘密约定。我只能现在公布这个约定，那就是：唯一的拍卖品就是儿子的画像，谁买了那幅画像，全部财产都归他继承，包括这些收藏品。这个买了儿子画像的人拥有了这所有的一切！”
上帝在两千年前奉献出他的儿子，儿子死在冷酷的十字架上，同这个拍卖师一样，他也说了同样的话：“儿子，儿子，谁要这个儿子？”
