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1. The parrot who didn't fly
篇一 不飛的鸚鵡
Once upon a time, there was a king who had gone to visit neighbouring kingdoms. He was given a pair of baby Macaw Parrots by the king of the last kingdom where he was visiting. They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. So, upon returning to his kingdom, he called for a bird trainer and asked him to train the Macaw parrots.
從前有一位國王去鄰國訪問。他訪問的最后一個王國送給他一對小金剛鸚鵡。這對鸚鵡是他見過的最美麗的鳥兒。于是，回國后，他請來了一位馴鳥師，訓練這對金剛鸚鵡。
The king also arranged a place in the palace garden for the parrots. He often looked at them from his palace window. As time passed, one day the trainer came to the palace and informed the king that though one of the parrots was flying majestically high in the sky, the other one was not moving from its branch since the day it had arrived.
國王還在宮廷花園里為這對鸚鵡專門安排了一個地方。他經常透過宮殿的窗戶看著這對小鳥。過了些日子，有一天馴鳥師來到宮殿，稟告國王，其中一只鸚鵡已經可以在高高的天空中飛翔，但另一只從來到王宮的那一天起就從來沒有離開過它站立的樹枝。
Upon hearing this, the king summoned trainers and healers from the nearby kingdoms. They all tried their best, but couldn't make the parrot fly! He even asked his courtiers to try to find a way to make the parrot fly but they all failed. The parrot was not moving from his branch at all. Finally, after trying everything, the king thought that maybe he needed someone who is more familiar with the parrot's natural habitat. He asked his courtier to get a farmer from the countryside and take him to the parrot to see if he can understand the problem with the parrot.
國王聽后，從鄰國召來了幾位馴鳥師和治療師。但他們竭盡所能也沒能讓這只鸚鵡展翅飛翔！國王甚至要求大臣們想辦法讓鸚鵡飛起來，但都以失敗告終。鸚鵡就是站在它的樹枝上，一步也不動。最后，在嘗試了各種辦法后，國王覺得也許他需要一個更熟悉鸚鵡自然棲息地的人來解決這個問題。他派了一位大臣從鄉下找到了一個農夫。農夫被帶到鸚鵡跟前，看看他能否找到鸚鵡的問題。
The next morning, the king was thrilled to see the parrot flying high above the palace gardens. He asked his servant to call that farmer, to meet him. The servant quickly went and located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the parrot fly?"
第二天早上，國王非常興奮地看到鸚鵡正在宮廷花園的上空高高地飛翔。國王讓仆人找來那個農夫，要見見他。仆人很快就找到了農夫，并把他帶到了國王面前。國王問他：“你是怎么讓鸚鵡飛起來了的？”
With his hands folded out of respect, the farmer said to the king, "It was very easy, your majesty. I simply cut the branch on which the bird was sitting."
農夫雙手交叉表示尊敬，然后對國王說：“這很簡單，陛下。我只是把那只鳥站立的樹枝剪了下來?！?br />Moral: We are all gifted with energy to find success in our life, but often fail to gather the courage which is required to reach heights of success and end up clinging to the things that are familiar to us. We need to free ourselves from our comfort zone to explore new opportunities and find success beyond our capacity.
寓意：我們生就都會精力充沛地去尋常我們生活中的成功，卻往往缺乏達到成功高度的勇氣，最終只能依偎于自己熟悉的環境中，故步自封。我們需要從舒適的環境中釋放自我，超越我們自身的能力，去探索新的機會，尋求更大的成功。
2. I m a coward
篇二 不再懦弱——面對恐懼，迎難而上
One cowardly person came to a master of martial arts and asked to teach him bravery. The master looked at him and said:
一個懦弱的人找到一位武術大師，要從這位武術大師那里學習勇敢。大師看著他說：
I will teach you only on one condition: one month you will have to live in a big city and tell every person that you meet on your way that you are a coward. You will have to say it loudly, openly, while looking straight into the person's eyes.
要想從我這里學習勇敢，你得首先答應我一個條件：你必須去一座大城市住一個月，告訴在那里遇到的每一個人，你是一個懦夫。你必須大大方方地把這句話大聲說出來，同時要直視對方的眼睛。
The person got really sad, because this task seemed very scary to him. For a couple of days, he was very sad and thoughtful, but to live with his cowardice was so unbearable that he travelled to the city to accomplish his mission.
這個人感到非常難過，因為這項任務對他來說似乎太可怕了。幾天后，他依舊感到非常難過，且憂心忡忡，但他實在無法再忍受自己的懦弱，因此還是動身前往那座城市，去完成自己的任務。
At first, when meeting passers, he quailed, lost his speech and couldn't contact anyone. But he needed to finish the master's task, so he began to overcome himself.
起初，當遇見路人時，他會感到恐懼，說不出話來，無法與任何人接觸。但他需要完成大師交給他的任務，于是他開始嘗試戰勝自己。
When he came up to his first passer to tell about his cowardice, it seemed to him that he would die from fear. But his voice sounded louder and more confident with every passing day. Suddenly came a moment, when the man caught himself thinking that he was not scared anymore, and the further he continued doing the master's task, the more convinced he was that the fear was abandoning him. That way the month passed. The person came back to the master, bowed to him and said:
當他第一次走向一位路人，說出自己是個懦夫時，感覺自己好像要被嚇死了。但此后，隨著一天天過去，他的聲音變得越來越響亮，也越來越有自信。忽然間，他一下子就覺得自己已經不再害怕了。而且，他越是繼續完成大師交給他的這項任務，他越是確信自己已經擺脫了恐懼。就這樣，一個月過去了。這個人回到大師面前，向他鞠躬說：
"Thank you, teacher. I finished your task. Now I'm not afraid anymore. But how did you know that this strange task will help me?"
“謝謝您，老師。我完成了您交給我的任務?，F在我不再害怕了。但是，您是怎么知道這個奇怪的任務會幫到我？”
"The thing is that cowardice is only a habit. And by doing the things that scare us, we can destroy stereotypes and come to the conclusion that you came to. And now you know that bravery—is also a habit. And if you want to make bravery a part of yourself—you need to move forward into your fear. Then your fear will go away, and bravery will take its place."
“其實，懦弱只是一種習慣。而通過做一些令我們恐懼的事情，我們會打破這種一成不變，重新面對現實。而現在，你知道了勇敢其實也是一種習慣。要想讓自己變得勇敢，你就需要面對恐懼，迎難而上。這樣，你的恐懼就會煙消云散，勇敢自然取而代之?！?/p>
