It was an evening. An old man was standing by the river for hours. His beard(胡须) was frozen while he was waiting for a ride across the river. The wait seemed (1)
endless
.
(2)
Finally
, he saw several horsemen coming. He watched them in (3)
silence
and let the first one pass by without even asking for a ride. Another passed by, and then another, till the last horseman came near him. The old man was (4)
hopeful
and said, “Sir, would you mind giving me a ride to the other side?”
The horseman answered, “Sure. Get on.” Then the horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to the old man’s home (5)
carefully
.
As they went near the old man’s house, the horseman asked, “Sir, I noticed that you let several other horsemen pass by without (6)
trying
to ask for a ride. Then I came up and you asked me for a ride at once. Why? If I refused and left you there, what would you do?”
The old man replied, “I looked into the eyes of the other horsemen and saw that they didn’t care about me. It was (7)
useless
to ask them for a ride. But in your eyes I saw (8)
kindness
. I know that you are a (9)
helpful
person.”
These heart - warming words touched the horseman. “I’m so (10)
thankful
for what you said,” he told the old man.
“I hope I will never get too busy to help others.” With that, the horseman turned his horse around and made his way back.