Heart Song

　　Once upon a time there was a great man who married the woman of his dreams. With their love, they created a little girl. She was a bright and cheerful little girl and the great man loved her very much.

　　When she was very little, he would pick her up, hum a tune and dance with her around the room, and he would tell her, "I love you, little girl!"

　　When the little girl was growing up, the great man would hug her and tell her, "I love you, little girl. "The little girl would pout and say, "I’m not a little girl anymore." Then the man would laugh and say, "But to me, you’ll always be my little girl."

　　The little girl who-was-not-little-anymore left her home and went into the world. As she learned more about herself, she learned more about the man. She saw that he truly was great and strong, for now she recognized his strengths. One of his strengths was his ability to express his love to his family. It didn’t matter where she went in the world, the man would call her and say, "I love you, little girl."

　　The day came when the little girl who-was-not-little-anymore received a phone call. The great man was damaged. He had had a stroke. He was aphasic, they explained to the girl. He couldn’t talk anymore and they weren’t sure that he could understand the words spoken to him. He could no longer smile, laugh, walk, hug, dance or tell the little girl who-was-not-little-anymore that he loved her.

　　And so she went to the side of the great man. When she walked into the room and saw him, he looked small and not strong at all. He looked at her and tried to speak, but he could not.

　　The little girl did the only thing she could do. She climbed up on the bed next to the great man. Tears ran from both of their eyes and she drew her arms around the useless shoulders of her father.

　　Her head on his chest, she thought of many things. She remembered the wonderful times together and how she had always felt protected and cherished by the great man. She felt grief for the loss she was to endure, the words of love that had comforted her.

　　And then she heard from within the man, the beat of his heart. The heart where the music and the words had always lived. The heart beat on, steadily unconcerned about the damage to the rest of the body. And while she rested there, the magic happened. She heard what she needed to hear.

　　His heart beat out the words that his mouth could no longer say ...

　　I love you
　　I love you
　　I love you
　　Little girl
　　Little girl
　　Little girl

　　And she was comforted.

By Patty Hansen From Chicken Soup for the Soul

心之歌

　　从前，有个大好人，他和梦寐以求的女子结婚后，有了爱的结晶--一个小女儿。他的女儿性情开朗又聪明，大好人对她疼爱有加。

　　当女儿还很小的时候，他会将她高高地抱起，一边哼着小调，一边绕着房间跳舞，并且对她说："我爱你，小女孩。"

　　随着女孩渐渐长大，大好人仍会拥抱她，并不时告诉她："我爱你，小女孩。"已长大的女孩常噘着嘴撒娇说："我已不再是个小女孩，我已经长大了。"但大好人会笑着说："对我而言，你永远是我心目中的'小'女孩。"

　　因着年纪的增长，女孩离开家，许多的经历让她更认识自己，也从她父亲身上学到更多。她从父亲身上看到真正的伟大与力量，其中最大的力量是他对家庭所表现的爱。不论她身在何处，她父亲仍是不厌其烦地告诉她："我爱你，小女孩。"

　　一天，女孩接到一个电话，她父亲因脑中风而无法言语。他说不出话来，大家也不知道他是否能听得懂别人所说的话。大好人再也不能笑、走路、拥抱、跳舞，甚至再也无法对宝贝女儿表达他的爱。

　　因此她回到父亲身边。她走进房间看着他，他看起来是如此瘦弱，失去了昔日的强壮。父亲看着她，想要说话，但却做不到。

　　女孩所能做的只是坐到父亲的床缘，他们互相凝视，眼中闪着泪光。女孩用手紧紧围绕着父亲无助的肩膀。

　　她把头埋在父亲的怀中，想着许多事情。她想起他们过去相处的快乐时光，在那段时光中父亲是如何保护、疼爱着她。此时她十分伤心，因她将要永远失去父亲以及那些安慰的话语。

　　忽然她听到从父亲内心深处发出的心跳声。他的心中以往总是充满音乐以及那些爱的话语。那心跳是如此坚定，完全无视于身体其余受损的部分。当她怔在那里，奇迹出现了！她听到父亲以心跳声传出他嘴巴再也无法说出的--

　　我爱你
　　我爱你
　　我爱你
　　小女孩
　　小女孩
　　小女孩

　　这使她再度获得安慰，重新振奋起精神。