四季人生 (4 Seasons of life) [生命教育]

(中文由老編西歪翻譯)

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

一個人有四個兒子。他希望兒子們能夠學習不要太快對事情下判斷。於

是他讓他們輪流到遠方觀察一棵梨樹。

The first son he sent in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

老大在冬天，老二在春天，老三在夏天，小兒子則在秋天分別前往。

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

當他們去了全都回來之後，召集他們在一起，讓他們形容所看到的景

象。

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

老大說，那棵數真難看，枯乾，歪七扭八的。

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

老二說，不對！，它滿樹綠色嫩芽，充滿着希望。

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

老三並不認同，他說，樹上開滿了花朵，既芳香又美麗，這是他所見

過最棒的景緻。

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment

小兒子和所有人的意見都不同，他說，那是長着成熟和下垂的水果，

充滿生命力和成就感。

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

父親對四個兒子說：你們都是正確的，因為你們每個人只看到樹在其

中一個季節的面貌。

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

他告訴兒子們，你們不可以只在短短的一個季節去判斷一棵樹或一個

人，他們的實質快樂、喜悅和愛是個什麼模樣，生命只能在所有季節終

了之後才能衡量出來。

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

如果在寒冬你放棄了，你會錯過你春天的生機，夏日之燦爛以及秋季

的收穫。

The Moral Gentle Reader:

親愛的讀者，故事的寓意是：

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come.

不要讓一個季節的痛苦摧毀其餘季節的喜悅。不要在一個艱困的時節來

論斷人生。鍥而不捨渡過難關，美好日子肯定就會到來。

[註] 原文摘錄自「4 Seasons of life」，網頁如下，中文由老編西歪翻譯。

http://parsontoperson.blogspot.tw/2009/10/4-seasons-of-life.html