三分鐘英語勵志經典故事
就算我們只有三分鐘空閒，也足以看完一兩篇英語勵志經典故事，那麼都有哪些呢?一起來看看吧。
：覆水難收
A certain good woman one day said something that hurt her best friend of many years. She regretted immediately and would have done anything to have taken the words back . What she said hurt the friend so much that this good woman was herself hurt for the pain she caused . In an effort to undo what she had done , she went to an older ,wise woman in the village, explained her situation ,and asked for advice.
Listening to her ，the older woman sensed the younger woman's distress and knew she must help her . She also knew she could never alleviate the pain , but she could teach . She knew the outcome would depend solely on the character of the younger woman . She said ,"Tonight ,take your best feather pillows and put single feather on the doorstep of each house in the town before the sun rises."
The young woman hurried home to prepare for her chore ,even though the feather pillows were very dear to her .All night long ,she labored alone in the cold. Finally the sky was getting light ,she placed the last feather on the steps of the last house .Just as the sun rose, she returned to the older woman.
"Now", said the wise woman,"go back and refill your pillows with the feather you have put on the steps .then everything will be as it was before."
"You know that's impossible! the wind blew away each feather as fast as I placed them on the doorsteps!" the young woman was surprised .
"That's true," said the older woman."never forget. each of your words is like a feather in the wind. once spoken, no amount of effort, regardless how heartfelt or sincere, can never return them to your mouth. Choose your words well and guard them most of all the presence of those of you love. "
一位善良的女人一天說了一些話傷害了她最好的有多年友情的朋友;她話一出口就後悔了，她想做任何事來收回她的話。她的話傷害朋友如此之深，以至於這個善良的女人為自己給朋友造成痛苦而傷心不已。為了努力消除自己所做錯事的影響，她拜訪本村一位有智慧的年長婦女，介紹她的現狀，尋求解決辦法。
聽著年輕女的述說，年長女感覺到年輕女的憂傷，並且意識到自己得幫助年輕女。年長女知道她不可能減輕年輕女的傷痛，但她可以讓年輕女從中吸取教訓。她明白事情的結果只能是取決於年輕女的性格。她說：“今晚，拆開你最好的羽毛枕頭，在太陽升起之前，在本鎮每家的門階上放一根羽毛。”
年輕女匆匆回家準備這事，儘管這些枕頭是她非常心愛的。一整夜，她獨自在嚴寒中勞動。最後，天放亮時，她終於將最後一根羽毛放在最後一家的臺階上。太陽升起時，她回到年長女的家。
“現在”，年長女說道，“回去再用你放在每家臺階上的羽毛把枕頭填滿，然後，一切事情就象是沒有發生過，一如往昔。
“你知道這是不可能的!我把羽毛一放在臺階上，風就把它們吹跑了!”年輕女非常驚訝年長女這個建議。
“沒錯。”年長女說道，“你要永遠記住，你的每句話就象是風中的羽毛，覆水難收。一旦不計後果，話已說出，儘管你的願望是如何真心、如何誠意，但說話如沷水不可收回。適當選擇你的話，並且當心你的話，特別特別是在那些為你所愛的人面前。”
：一棵小蘋果樹
A poor farmer had a friend who was famous for the wonderful apple he grew.
One day, his friend gave the farmer a young apple tree and told him to take it home and plant it.
The farmer was pleased with the gift, but when he got home he did not know where to plant it.
He was afraid that if he planted the tree near the road, strangers would steal the fruit. If he planted the tree in one of his field, his neighbors would come at night and steal some of the apples. If he planted the tree near his house, his children would take the fruit.
Finally he planted the tree in his wood where no one could see it. But without sunlight and good soil, the tree soon died.
Later the friend asked the farmer why he had planted the tree in such a poor place."What's the difference?" the farmer said angrily. "If I had planted the tree near the road, strangers would have stolen the fruit. If I had planted the tree in one of my field, my neighbors would have come at night and stolen some of the apples. If I had planted it near my house, my own children would have taken the fruit."
"Yes," said the friend, "but at least someone could have enjoyed the fruit. Now you not only have robbed everyone of the fruit, but also you have destroyed a good apple tree!"
一個窮困的農夫有一個朋友，這個朋友因為種了神奇的蘋果樹而遠近聞名。
有一天，農夫的這個朋友送給他一棵小蘋果樹。農夫對這個禮物非常高興。但當他回到家時，卻不知道將它栽在什麼地方。
他擔心他把蘋果樹栽在路邊，陌生人會偷樹上的蘋果，他把樹種在自己的一塊地裡，鄰居們夜裡就會過來偷蘋果。他把樹栽在自己的房子邊，他的孩子們就會摘蘋果。
最後，他把那棵樹栽在了林子裡，那裡沒人能看見。但沒有陽光和泥土，樹不久就死了。
後來，朋友問農夫他為什麼把樹栽在那樣貧瘠的地方。
“那有什麼不一樣?”農夫生氣地說， “我把蘋果樹栽在路邊，陌生人就會偷樹上的蘋果，我把樹栽在自己的一塊地裡，鄰居們夜裡就會來偷蘋果。我把樹栽在自己的房邊，我自己的孩子們就會摘蘋果。”
是的，”他的朋友說. “但至少可能有人來分享這些果實。現在你不僅剝奪了每個人的果實，也毀了一棵好蘋果樹!”
：禪師和男孩
A father was worried about his son, who was sixteen years old but had no courage at all. So the father decided to call on a Buddhist monk to train his boy.
The Buddhist monk said to the boy's father, "You should leave your son alone here. I'll make him into a real man within three months. However, you can’t come to see him during this period. "
Three months later, the boy's father returned. The Buddhist monk arranged a boxing match between the boy and an experienced boxer. Each time the fighter struck the boy, he fell down, but at once the boy stood up; and each time a punch knocked him down, the boy stood up again. Several times later, the Buddhist monk asked, "What do you think of your child?"
"What a shame!" the boy's father said. "I never thought he would be so easily knocked down. I needn't have him left here any longer."
"I'm sorry that that's all you see. Don't you see that each time he falls down; he stands up again instead of crying? That's the kind of courage you wanted him to have."
一位父親為兒子擔心。兒子16歲了，卻沒有一點勇氣。於是，父親決定去拜訪一位禪師，請他訓練兒子。
禪師對男孩的父親說：“你應該讓他單獨留在這裡。不出3個月，我要讓他成為一個真正的男子漢。不過，在這段時間，你不能來見他。”
3個月後，男孩的父親又來見禪師。禪師安排這個男孩和一位經驗豐富的拳師進行拳擊比賽。拳師每次一出手，男孩就倒在地上，但男孩又馬上站起來;每次將他擊倒，他就又站起來。幾個回合後，禪師問道：“你認為自己的孩子怎麼樣?”
“真丟人!”男孩的父親說，“我絕沒想到他這樣不堪一擊。我不需要他再留在這裡了。”
“很遺憾，你只看到了這一點。難道你沒看到他每次倒下後並沒有哭泣，而是重新站起來了嗎?這才是你想要他擁有的那種勇氣。”