Mr. Dawson was an old grouch2), and everyone in town knew it. Kids knew not to go into his yard to pick a delicious apple, even off the ground, because old Dawson, they said, would come after you with his ball bullet gun.
　　One Friday, 12-year-old Janet was going to stay all night with her friend Amy. They had to walk by Dawson's house on the way to Amy's house, but as they got close Janet saw him sitting on his front porch3)and suggested they cross over to the other side of the street. Like most of the children, she was scared4)of the old man because of the stories she'd heard about him.
　　Amy said not to worry, Mr. Dawson wouldn't hurt anyone. Still, Janet was growing more nervous with each step closer to the old man's house. When they got close enough, Dawson looked up with his usual frown5), but when he saw it was Amy, a broad smile changed his entire face as he said, "Hello Miss Amy. I see you've got a little friend with you today."
　　Amy smiled back and told him Janet was staying overnight and they were going to listen to music and play games. Dawson told them that sounded fun, and offered them each a fresh picked apple off his tree. They gladly accepted. Dawson had the best apples in town.
　　When they got out of Dawson?on earshot6), Janet asked Amy, "Everyone says he's the meanest7)man in town. How come was he so nice to us?"
　　Amy explained that when she first started walking past his house he wasn't very friendly and she was afraid of him, but she pretended he was wearing an invisible smile and so she always smiled back at him. It took a while, but one day he half-smiled back at her.
　　After some more time, he started smiling real smiles and then started talking to her. Just a"hello"at first, then more. She said he always offers her an apple now, and is always very kind.
　　"An invisible smile?"questioned Janet.
　　"Yes,"answered Amy, "my grandma told me that if I pretended I wasn't afraid and pretended he was smiling an invisible smile at me and I smiled back at him, that sooner or later he would really smile. Grandma says smiles are contagious8)."
　　If we remember what Amy's grandma said, that everyone wears an invisible smile, we too will find that most people can't resist9)our smile after a while.
　　We're always on the go10)trying to accomplish so much, aren's we? Getting groceries, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn - there's always something. It's so easy to get caught up in everyday life that we forget how simple it can be to bring cheer to ourselves and others. Giving a smile away takes so little effort and time, let's make sure that we've not the one that others have to pretend is wearing an invisible smile.
　　道森先生是個(gè)壞脾氣的老頭子,鎮(zhèn)上的每個(gè)人都知道這個(gè)。小孩們知道不能到他的院子里摘美味的蘋(píng)果,甚至掉在地上的也不能撿,因?yàn)閾?jù)他們說(shuō),老道森會(huì)端著他的彈丸獵槍跟在你后面追。
　　一個(gè)周五,12歲的珍妮特要陪她的朋友艾米過(guò)夜。她們?nèi)グ准业耐局械寐愤^(guò)道森先生的房子。當(dāng)她們離道森家越來(lái)越近時(shí),珍妮特看見(jiàn)道森先生坐在前廊,于是她建議她們過(guò)馬路從街的另一邊走。跟大多數(shù)孩子一樣,珍妮特聽(tīng)過(guò)他的故事,對(duì)他很是害怕。
　　艾米說(shuō)別擔(dān)心,道森先生不會(huì)傷害任何人。但每向前走一步,離老人的房子越近,珍妮特就越緊張。當(dāng)她們走到房子那兒,道森抬起了頭,一如既往地皺著他的眉頭。但當(dāng)他看到是艾米,一個(gè)燦爛的笑容讓他整個(gè)表情都變了,他說(shuō):"你好,艾米小姐,我看見(jiàn)今天有位小朋友陪你。"
　　艾米也對(duì)他微笑,告訴他珍妮特會(huì)陪她過(guò)夜,她們要一起聽(tīng)音樂(lè)玩游戲。道森告訴她們這聽(tīng)上去很有趣,給她們每人一個(gè)從他的樹(shù)上剛摘下來(lái)的蘋(píng)果。她們很高興地接受了,因?yàn)榈郎奶O(píng)果是鎮(zhèn)上最棒的。
　　走到道森聽(tīng)不到的地方,珍妮特問(wèn)艾米:"每個(gè)人都說(shuō)他是鎮(zhèn)上最不好打交道的人,但他為什么對(duì)我們這么好呢?"
　　艾米說(shuō)當(dāng)她第一次路過(guò)他家時(shí),他不是很友好,這讓她害怕。但她假裝他有著看不見(jiàn)的微笑,所以她總對(duì)他回之以微笑。終于過(guò)了一段時(shí)間,有一天,他也對(duì)她露出了一點(diǎn)笑容。
　　再過(guò)了些日子,他開(kāi)始真正地對(duì)她笑了,并開(kāi)始和艾米說(shuō)話。開(kāi)始只是打個(gè)招呼,后來(lái)越來(lái)越多。她說(shuō)他現(xiàn)在總給她蘋(píng)果,總是很友善。
　　"看不見(jiàn)的笑容?"珍妮特問(wèn)。
　　"是的,"艾米回答道。"我奶奶告訴我如果我假裝不害怕,假裝他有著看不見(jiàn)的笑容,我對(duì)他微笑,總有一天他會(huì)真正微笑起來(lái)。奶奶說(shuō)笑容是可以互相感染的。"
　　如果我們記住艾米奶奶說(shuō)的,每個(gè)人都有著看不見(jiàn)的笑容,我們會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)大多數(shù)人在一段時(shí)間后是無(wú)法抗拒我們的微笑的。
　　我們總是忙著去盡量完成更多的事,不是嗎?買(mǎi)東西,打掃屋子,割院子里的草--總有些什么事。這就使我們很容易在日常生活中忘記:給自己和別人帶來(lái)快樂(lè)是多么簡(jiǎn)單的事情。綻放微笑花費(fèi)的精力與時(shí)間很少,讓我們確保自己不會(huì)成為這樣的人--別人總得假裝我們有看不見(jiàn)的笑容。