Silence
Illustration★★★★An old New England farmer was known as a man of few words. He spoke very little and, when he did, the words seemed to come out rather grudgingly. But he was a good man, in his own way, and a good husband. One evening, after a long day’s work in the fields, he enjoyed a particularly good supper his wife had prepared for him. And it seemed to soften him up a bit, for when he had finished eating, he gazed rather tenderly at his spouse and said, “When I think of what a won- derful wife you’ve been all these years, sometimes it’s almost more than I can stand not to tell you.”
The point
A taciturn New England farmer's rare expression of gratitude—almost unbearable in its intensity—becomes more powerful than frequent compliments.
Audience
Adults
Tone
Tender · Humorous
To tell aloud
under a minute · 115 words