Once there was a poor lady who lived on a hill near the sea. She lived a lonely life. She was so poor that she had to work hard every day.
But one night as she sat at the table, the lady said to herself, "Why can't I do good to others?" At last, she came up with an idea.
She decided to keep a lighted lamp (灯) at the window for the sailors every night. She found that ships sometimes broke up on the rocks in the sea, since there was no lighthouse to warn them of the danger at night. Maybe her lamp would warn them when their ships came near the rocks on the coast.
The lady felt glad when the thought came through her mind. So she worked late and made money to buy the oil for the lamp and then she placed the lamp at the window each night. In this way she saved many lives.
She did this for five years without the hope of reward ( 报酬). However, good acts were often found out. The sailors whose lives had been saved began to send gifts to her. They sent her tea from China, cloth from India, silk from France and grapes from Spain. But the poor lady did not need these gifts to make her happy. She gave many of them to the poor and the sick.
She was happy with the thought that she was doing good. So, as long as she lived, she lit her lamp each night, and placed it at the window.
