英語短篇勵志小故事

　　我們在空閒時間多看一些總會有所收穫的，那麼都有哪些呢?一起來看看吧。

　　：寧靜的真諦

　　There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two be really liked, and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

　　The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

　　But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the bush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest----in perfect peace.

　　Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

　　“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”

　　從前有一個國王，懸賞能畫出最好的寧靜畫的畫家。很多畫家都進行了嘗試。國王所有的作品，但只有兩幅，他真正喜歡，他必須從中選擇。一幅畫中是一片寧靜的湖，四周群山環繞，湖泊就是一面完美的鏡子。藍天之上白雲飄飄，每個看到這幅畫的人都認為這真是一幅完美的寧靜畫。

　　另一幅畫也有山脈。但這些山脈崎嶇不平，光禿禿的。上面是烏雲滾滾的天空，大雨如注，閃電雷鳴，一條飛瀑從山的一側傾斜而下。這看起來一點都不寧靜。

　　但國王仔細看時，卻看到瀑布後面在岩石的裂縫中長著一個小小的灌木叢。灌木叢中，一隻母鳥極其安靜的臥在巢上。

　　你認為哪幅畫能贏得懸賞?國王選擇了第二幅。你知道為什麼嗎?

　　國王解釋說：“這是因為寧靜並不是指這個地方沒有噪音，煩惱和辛勞。寧靜就是置於所有那些東西之中，你心裡仍然平靜。這才是寧靜的真諦。”

　　：一位改變了我生活的女孩

　　My childhood and adolescence were a joyous outpouring of energy, a ceaseless quest for expression, skill, and experience. School was only a background to the supreme delight of lessons in music, dance, and dramatics, and the thrill of sojourns in the country, theaters, concerts.

　　我在童年和少年時代激情四溢，無時無刻不追求展現自我、磨礪才藝和體味生活。學校裡的音樂、舞蹈和戲劇課讓我歡欣不已，而劇院和音樂會更讓我身心為之震顫，鄉間流連的時光也同樣美妙。

　　And books, big Braille books that came with me on streetcars, to the table, and to bed. Then one night at a high school dance, a remark, not intended for my ears, stabbed my youthful bliss: “That girl, what a pity she is blind.” Blind! That ugly word that implied everything dark, blank, rigid, and helpless. Quickly I turned and called out, Please don’t feel sorry for me, I’m having lots of fun. But the fun was not to last.

　　還有我的書，那些厚重的盲文書籍無論在我乘車、用餐還是睡覺時都與我形影不離。然而，一天晚上，在高中的一次舞會上，一句我無意中聽到的話霎那間將我年少的幸福擊碎——“那女孩是個瞎子，真可惜!”瞎子——這個刺耳的字眼隱含著一個陰暗、漆黑、僵硬和無助的世界。我立刻轉過身，大聲喊道：“請不要為我嘆惜，我很快樂!”——但我的快樂自此不復存在。

　　With the advent of college, I was brought to grips with the problem of earning a living. Part-time teaching of piano and harmony and, upon graduation, occasional concerts and lectures, proved only partial sources of livelihood. In terms of time and effort involved, the financial remuneration was disheartening. This induced within me searing self-doubt and dark moods of despondency. Adding to my dismal sense of inadequacy was the repeated experience of seeing my sisters and friends go off to exciting dates. How grateful I was for my piano, where—through Chopin, Brahms, and Beethoven—I could mingle my longing and seething energy with theirs. And where I could dissolve my frustration in the beauty and grandeur of their conceptions.

　　升入大學之後，我開始為生計而奔波。課餘時間我教授鋼琴及和聲，臨近畢業時還偶爾參加幾次演奏會，做了幾次講座，可要維持生計光靠這些還是不夠，與投入的時間和精力相比，它們在經濟上的回報讓人沮喪。這讓我失去了自信和勇氣，內心鬱悶苦惱。眼看我的姐妹和夥伴們一次次興高采烈地與人約會，我更覺消沉空虛。 所幸的是，還有鋼琴陪我。我沸騰的渴望和激情在肖邦、貝多芬、勃拉姆斯那裡得到了共鳴。我的挫敗感在他們美妙壯麗的音樂構想中消散。

　　Then one day, I met a girl, a wonderful girl, an army nurse, whose faith and stability were to change my whole life. As our acquaintance ripened into friendship, she discerned, behind a shell of gaiety, my recurring plateaus of depression. She said, “Stop knocking on closed doors. Keep up your beautiful music. I know your opportunity will come. You’re trying too hard. Why don’t you relax, and have you ever tried praying?”

　　直到有一天，我遇見一位女孩，一位出色的女孩，這名隨軍護士的信念和執著將改變我的一生。我們日益熟稔，成為好友，她也慢慢察覺出我的快樂的外表之下內心卻時常愁雲密佈。她對我說，“門已緊鎖，敲有何用?堅持你的音樂夢想，我相信機會終將來臨。你太辛苦了，何不放鬆一下——試試禱告如何?”

　　The idea was strange to me. It sounded too simple. Somehow, I had always operated on the premise that, if you wanted something in this world, you had to go out and get it for yourself. Yet, sincerity and hard work had yielded only meager returns, and I was willing to try anything. Experimentally, self-consciously, I cultivated the daily practice of prayer. I said: God, show me the purpose for which You sent me to this world. Help me to be of use to myself and to humanity.

　　禱告?我從未想到過，聽起來太天真了。一直以來，我的行事準則都是，無論想得到什麼都必須靠自己去努力爭取。不過既然從前的熱誠和辛勞回報甚微，我什麼都願意嘗試一番。雖然有些不自在，我嘗試著每天都禱告——“上帝啊，你將我送到世上，請告訴我你賜予我的使命。幫幫我，讓我於人於己都有用處。”

　　In the years to follow, the answers began to arrive, clear and satisfying beyond my most optimistic anticipation. One of the answers was Enchanted Hills, where my nurse friend and I have the privilege of seeing blind children come alive in God’s out-of-doors. Others are the never-ending sources of pleasure and comfort I have found in friendship, in great music, and, most important of all, in my growing belief that as I attune my life to divine revelation, I draw closer to God and, through Him, to immortality.

　　在接下來的幾年裡，我得到了明確而滿意的回答，超出了我最樂觀的期望值。其中一個回答就是魔山盲人休閒營區。在那裡，我和我的護士朋友每年都有幸看到失明 的孩子們在大自然的懷抱中是多麼生氣勃勃。除此之外，朋友們真摯的友誼以及美妙的音樂都給我帶來無窮無盡的歡樂和慰藉。最重要的是，我越來越意識到，在我日復一日的禱告中，當我聆聽上帝的啟示之時，我正日益與他靠近，並通過他接近永恆。

　　：差距時間

　　John and Bobby joined a wholesale company togther just after graduation from college the same year. Both worked very hard. After several years, however, the boss promoted Bobby to theposotion of manager but John remained an ordinary employee. John could not take it anymore, tendered his resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not know how to delegate and did not value hard working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him.

　　The boss knew that John worked very hard for the years. He thought a moment and said, "Thank you for your criticism, but I have a request. I hope you will do one more thing for our company before you leave. Perhaps you will change your decision and take back your resignation."

　　John agreed. The boss asked him to go and find out anyone selling watermelon in the market. John went and returned soon. He said he had found out a man selling watermelon. The boss asked how much per kg? John shook his head and went back to the market to ask and returned to inform the boss $1.2 per kg.

　　Boss told John to wait a second, and he called Bobby to come to his office. He asked Bobby to go and find anyone seling watermelon in the market. Bobby went, returned and said, boss, only one person selling watermelon. $1.2 per kg, $10 for 10kg, he has inventory of 340 melons. On the table 58 melons, every melon weights about 2 kg, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.

　　John was very impresed and realized the difference between himself and Bobby. He decided not to resign but to learn from Bobby.

　　My dear friends, a more successful person is more observant, thinks more and explores in depth. Chances exists in the daily details. For the same matter, a more successful person sees more and farther so that he can find out an opportunity and catch it to realize his aim. If a person sees one year ahead, while another sees only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365times, how could you win?

　　約翰和博比同年大學畢業後，被同一家批發公司錄用。他們二人工作都很努力。然而，幾年後，老闆提拔博比為部門經理，而約翰還是一名普通員工。約翰再也無法忍受，衝動之下寫了一封辭職信，並抱怨老闆不會用人，不重用那些敬業的員工，只提升那些奉承他的人。

　　老闆知道這幾年約翰工作確實很努力。他想了一會兒說：“謝謝你對我的批評。但是我只有一個請求，我希望在你離開之前再為公司做一件事情。或許到時你會改變決定，收回辭呈。”

　　約翰答應了。 老闆讓他去市場找到一個賣西瓜的人。約翰去了並很快回來。他說他找到了一個賣西瓜的人。老闆問他每公斤多少錢?約翰搖搖頭，回到市場去問，然後又回來告訴老闆每公斤1.2美元。

　　老闆讓約翰等一會兒，這時他把博比叫到辦公室。他讓博比去市場找到一個賣西瓜的人。博比去了，回來之後說：“老闆，只有一個賣西瓜的人，每公斤1.2美元，每10公斤賣10美元。這個人一共有340個西瓜，其中58個放在貨架上，每個西瓜重約2公斤，都是兩天前從南方運來的，新鮮，紅瓤，質量好。”

　　約翰受到很大的觸動，他意識到自己與博比之間的差距。他決定收回辭呈並向博比學習。

　　親愛的朋友們，成功的人更善於觀察，勤于思考和孜孜探求。機遇就存在於生活的細節中。同樣的一件事，一個成功的人會看得更多更遠。有人看到一年後的情景，而你只看到明天。一年與一天的差距是365倍，你怎麼能贏呢?

---