1. The man who could see the future
篇一 能預見未來的人

A man who lived a long time ago believed that he could read the future in the stars. He called himself an Astrologer and spent his time at night gazing at the sky. He was always busy worrying about the future. Villagers often came to him, hoping to get to know from him what their future would be like.
很久以前，有這么一個人，他相信自己可以占星預見未來。他自稱占星家，并且常常在夜晚凝視星空。他總是為未來牽腸掛肚。村民們經常來找他，希望能從他那里了解自己的未來。
One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village. His eyes were fixed on the stars. He thought he read in the stars that the end of the world was near. He got lost in his thoughts about this future of the world. As he was looking at the stars he walked on, without looking down. Suddenly, he fell into a ditch full of mud and water.
一天晚上，他沿著村外的小路散步時，眼睛盯著天上的星星，認為自己從星象中了解到了世界末日即將來臨。他滿腦子想的都是關于世界的未來，思緒已經迷失其中。他一遍繼續散步，一遍抬頭望著星空，完全沒有低頭看腳下的路。突然，他掉進了一個滿是泥漿的水坑里。
He was sinking into the muddy water, and angrily trying to claw his way out by scrabbling at the slippery sides of the hole. Unfortunately, he failed each time in his efforts to climb out this way. He realized soon that he was unable to crawl out and, fearing for his life, he started screaming for help. His cries for help luckily made the villagers run to the hole.
他一點點陷入泥漿，開始奮力掙扎著沿濕滑的水坑邊向上爬。不幸的是，他每次竭盡全力想要爬出水坑時，都以失敗告終。他很快意識到，自己是無法憑借自身的力量爬出去的。他感覺自己快撐不住了，開始大喊救命。很幸運，他的呼救聲被村民們聽到了，他們紛紛跑到水坑邊來施救。
As they pulled him out of the mud, one of them said, "You pretend to read the future in the stars, and yet you fail to see what is in front of your feet! This hopefully teaches you that you may need to pay more attention to what is right in front of you, and let the future take care of itself." "What use is it," said another, "to read the stars, when you can't see what's right here on the earth?"
村民們把他從泥漿中拉出來后，其中一位村民對他說：“你自稱有占星預見未來的本事，怎么連腳下的路也看不清？！希望這件事能夠讓你清楚，你可能需要更多地關注自己眼前的事情，讓未來的事情自己去發生吧。”“你連地球上的事情都看不到，”另一個村民說，“占星又有什么用？”
Moral: We all want our future to be bright and happy, but the time doesn't stop for anyone. Each tomorrow turns into today, your present is also a part of your future. There is always a tomorrow to look forward to and improve, but you can't go back to yesterday. So, maintain the balance in your life in the present, while you work for a better tomorrow.
寓意：我們都希望自己的未來變得光明、幸福，但時間不會因任何人而停下腳步。 每個明天都會變成今天，你的現在也是你未來的一部分。明天總是用來期待和改進的。因此，我們應當在我們現在的生活中尋找平衡，同時為了一個更美好的明天而付出努力。

2. The Lazy Man and the God's Plan
篇二 懶漢與上帝的計劃

Once upon a time, there was a very lazy man who would always look for an easier way to feed himself. One day, while he was searching for something to eat, he saw a fruit farm. He looked around and didn't see anyone guarding the fruits on the trees, so he quickly decided to steal some. But as soon as he walked into the farm and began to climb a tree, a farmer saw him and started coming at him with a stick, and wanted to catch him. The lazy man saw the farmer, got afraid and ran towards a nearby forest to hide himself.
從前，有一個非常懶惰的人，他始終在尋找更容易的方法來養活自己。有一天，當他正在找東西吃的時候，看到了一片果園。他環顧四周，發現沒人看守果樹，于是他很快決定去偷些果子吃。但，當他剛剛走進果園，開始爬上一棵果樹的時候，就被一個果農發現了。果農手拿一根木棒，向他所在的方向趕了過來，打算抓住他。懶漢看到了果農，害怕極了，跳下樹就朝附近的一片森林跑去，藏了起來。
After some time when he felt it was safe to come out of the forest again. While walking through the trees, he saw a wonderful scene. He saw a fox. It had only two legs, but it was still happily crawling around. The lazy man thought, how can this fox stay alive in such a condition?! The fox can't run, how is he able to feed himself or protect himself from the threat of other animals?
過了一段時間，當他覺得已經安全的時候，他開始動身走出森林。當他在樹木間穿行時，看到了一副非常精彩的場景。他見到一只狐貍。這只狐貍只有兩條腿，但仍然非常高興地爬來爬去。懶漢想，這樣一只狐貍怎么能夠在如此的條件下活下來呢？它不能奔跑，怎么能夠捕食獵物養活自己呢？又怎么能保護自己不受到其他動物的威脅呢？
Suddenly, he saw a lion coming towards the fox with a piece of meat in his mouth. All the animals ran away and the lazy man climbed in a tree to save himself. The fox however, stayed there alone, because it didn't have the ability to run. What happened next, surprised the lazy man. The lion left a piece of the meat that was in his mouth behind on the ground, for the fox!
突然，他看到一只獅子朝著狐貍走來，嘴里叼著一塊肉。所有動物都逃跑了，懶漢也爬上了一棵樹，躲了起來。只有狐貍獨自留在了原處，因為它沒有逃跑的能力。接下來發生的事情令懶漢感到十分驚訝。獅子將嘴里的那塊肉留在地上，轉身走開了。肉是留給狐貍的！
The lazy man felt happy seeing his god's play. He thought his god, who is the creator of all, always has a plan set, to take care of what he created. He felt that his god must have had something planned for him too. So, he left that place in the forest, and sat down somewhere, alone, waiting for someone to feed him too. As time passed by, he kept looking at the road, waiting for his food. He waited there for 2 days without any food! Finally, he couldn't bear his hunger and started to walk away.
懶漢為能夠看到上帝導演的這一幕劇情，感到非常地開心。他認為上帝，這位世間萬物的創造者，已經制定好了一份計劃，他所創造的一切事物都會受到他的眷顧。懶漢覺得上帝肯定也為他制定好了計劃。于是，他動身走出森林，坐在一個地方，獨自一人等待著有人來給他提供食物。時間一點一滴過去，他就這么一直坐在那里，眼睛盯著旁邊的路，等著食物送上門來。他在那里等待了整整兩天，沒有等到任何食物！最后，他實在忍不住饑餓，起身走開了。
He met an old sage on his way. He told everything that had happened to the sage. The sage first gave him some food and water. After consuming everything he had received, the lazy man asked the sage, "oh wise one, the god had shown his mercy to the crippled fox, but why was the god so cruel to me?"
他在路上遇到了一位年老的智者。他把之前發生在自己身上的一切都告訴了這位智者。智者先給了他一些食物和水。他把智者給他的食物和水全部吃盡喝完后，向智者問道：“尊敬的智者，上帝已經向那只殘疾的狐貍展現了他的憐憫，那為什么對我如此狠心？
The old sage said, with a smile: "True that the creator has a plan for everyone. You are obviously a part of his plan. But Son, you took his sign in a wrong way. He didn't want you to be like the fox. He wanted you to be like the Lion".
老智者微笑著說：“造物主確實已經為每個人制定了一份計劃。你顯然是他計劃的一部分。但是，孩子，你只是理解錯了他給你的征兆。他并不想讓你像那只狐貍一樣生活，而是要像那只獅子一樣。”。
Moral: Often we misunderstand things that happen to us. Life has given everyone the strength and ability to play a certain part on earth. Try to see the positive side of situations and keep imagining yourself in a strong role; a position in which you can help others in need. Don't always choose the easiest way to achieve something. Make a right choice.
寓意：我們經常會誤解發生在我們身上的事情。生活已經給了我們每個人力量和能力，去扮演我們在世間的各自角色。嘗試去看到事物積極的一面，始終把自己想象成扮演更加強大的角色——去幫助需要幫助的人。不要總是選擇最簡單的方式來達到自己的目的。同時，還要做出正確的選擇。