English Original
There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy.
One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist you could probably own your own country." And then he went away.
That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent, and he was discontent because he was unhappy.
The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn't find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide.
Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow.
He thought it would look good on the mantelpiece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, "Is Hafiz back?"
The new owner said, "No, why do you ask?" The wise man said, "Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one." The man said, "No, that's just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show you. There are many more." They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.
中文翻译
从前在非洲有一位快乐而满足的农夫。他因满足而快乐，同时也因快乐而感到满足。
有一天，一位智者来到他面前，向他讲述了钻石的荣耀以及随之而来的权力。智者说：“如果你拥有一块拇指般大的钻石，你就能换到一座属于自己的城市；如果你拥有一块拳头般大的钻石，你就可能会拥有一个属于自己的国家。”说完他便离开了。
那一晚，农夫难以入睡，他开始变得不快乐而且不满足起来。他因不满足而不快乐，同样也因为不快乐而变得不满足。
第二天早上，他卖掉了自己的农场，安顿好家人，便踏上了寻找钻石之路。他寻遍了整个非洲，一无所获。他找遍整个欧洲，还是一无所获。当他到达西班牙时，他已精神崩溃、身心俱疲、钱财耗尽。绝望之下，他跳进了巴塞罗那河，结束了自己的生命。
而在他的家乡，买下他农场的那个人正在一条流经农场的小溪边给骆驼饮水。清晨的阳光照射在溪流对岸的一块石头上，使它像彩虹一样闪闪发光。
他觉得这块石头放在壁炉架上会很好看，便捡起石头放进了客厅。当天下午，那位智者又来了。他看到闪闪发光的石头，便问道：“哈夫兹（旧主人）回来了吗？”
新主人回答说：“没有啊！你为什么这么问？”智者回答道：“因为那是一块钻石，我一眼就能认出来。”新主人说：“不，那只是我从溪水里捡的一块石头。来吧，我带你去看看，那里还有好多呢！”他们走到小溪边，捡了一些样本送去检验。毫无疑问，这些石头确实是钻石！他们发现，整个农场确实蕴藏着大片大片的钻石。