|
The
most
beautiful
heart
One
day
a
young
man
was
standing
in
the
middle
of
the
town
proclaiming
that
he
had
the
most
beautiful
heart
in
the
whole
valley.
A
large
crowd
gathered
and
they
all
admired
his
heart
for
it
was
perfect.
There
was
not
a
mark
or
a
flaw
in
it.
Yes,
they
all
agreed
it
truly
was
the
most
beautiful
heart
they
had
ever
seen.
The
young
man
was
very
proud
and
boasted
more
loudly
about
his
beautiful
heart.
Suddenly,
an
old
man
appeared
at
the
front
of
the
crowd
and
said,
"Why
your
heart
is
not
nearly
as
beautiful
as
mine."
The
crowd
and
the
young
man
looked
at
the
old
man's
heart.
It
was
beating
strongly,
but
full
of
scars,
it
had
places
where
pieces
had
been
removed
and
other
pieces
put
in,
but
they
didn't
fit
quite
right
and
there
were
several
jagged
edges.
In
fact,
in
some
places
there
were
deep
gouges
where
whole
pieces
were
missing.
The
people
stared
--
how
can
he
say
his
heart
is
more
beautiful,
they
thought?
The
young
man
looked
at
the
old
man's
heart
and
saw
its
state
and
laughed.
"You
must
be
joking,"
he
said.
"Compare
your
heart
with
mine,
mine is
perfect
and
yours
is
a
mess
of
scars
and
tears."
"Yes,"
said
the
old
man,
"yours
is
perfect
looking
but
I
would
never
trade
with
you.
You
see,
every
scar
represents
a
person
to
whom
I
have
given
my
love
-
I
tear
out
a
piece
of
my
heart
and
give
it
to
them,
and
often
they
give
me
a
piece
of
their
heart
which
fits
into
the
empty
place
in
my
heart,
but
because
the
pieces
aren't
exact,
I
have
some
rough
edges,
which
I
cherish,
because
they
remind
me
of
the
love
we
shared.
Sometimes
I
have
given
pieces
of
my
heart
away,
and
the
other
person
hasn't
returned
a
piece
of
his
heart
to
me.
These
are
the
empty
gouges
--
giving
love
is
taking
a
chance.
Although
these
gouges
are
painful,
they
stay
open,
reminding
me
of
the
love
I
have
for
these
people
too,
and
I
hope
someday
they
may
return
and
fill
the
space
I
have
waiting.
So
now
do
you
see
what
true
beauty
is?"
The
young
man
stood
silently
with
tears
running
down
his
cheeks.
He
walked
up
to
the
old
man,
reached
into
his
perfect
young
and
beautiful
heart, and
ripped
a
piece
out.
He
offered
it
to
the
old
man
with
trembling
hands.
The
old
man
took
his
offering,
placed
it
in
his
heart
and
then
took
a
piece from
his
old
scarred
heart
and
placed
it
in
the
wound
in
the
young
man's
heart.
It
fit,
but
not
perfectly,
as
there
were
some
jagged
edges.
The
young
man
looked
at
his
heart,
not
perfect
anymore
but
more
beautiful
than
ever,
since
love
from
the
old
man's
heart
flowed
into
his.
They
embraced
and
walked
away
side
by
side.
~author
unknown~
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