The Emperor's Seed
國王的繼承者，種子的考驗

Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or one of his own children, he decided to do something different.
曾經有一位遠東的皇帝已近暮年，他知道是時候選出他的繼位者了。他決定不選自己的助手或孩子，而要做出不一樣的選擇。
He called all the young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will be the next emperor of the kingdom!"
一天，他把王國的所有年輕人召集到一起，說：“我是時候退位了, 并且要選出下一任皇帝。我決定從你們中選出一人作為我的繼位者。”孩子們聽后都非常震驚！皇帝繼續說：“今天我要給你們每一個人一顆種子。它是一顆非常特殊的種子。我希望你們回家種下這顆種子，給它澆水，一年后的今天回到這里，帶來用這顆種子生長出的植物。然后，我會通過你們帶回來的植物來判斷，誰會成為下一任皇帝!”
There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
那天在場的有一個名叫凌的男孩。與其他男孩一樣，他也得到了一顆種子。他回到家，興奮地將這件事情完整地告訴了他的母親。母親幫他找來了一個花盆和一些種植用的土壤。他種下了種子，然后細心地澆水。每天，他都會為種子澆水，并觀察種子是否生長。
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing.
大約三個星期后，其他的一些年輕人開始談論他們的種子，以及開始生長的植物。凌不斷地回家并查看他的種子，可什么也沒長出來。三個星期、四個星期、五個星期過去了，還是什么也沒有。

By now others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
此時，其他男孩都在談論他們已經長成的植物了，但凌的種子卻根本沒有發芽生長，他感覺自己可能失敗了。六個月過去了，凌的花盆里依舊空無一物。他覺得自己已經把種子養死了。其他人的種子都長成了樹木和高大的植物，但他卻什么都沒有種出來。不過，他沒有跟朋友們說什么，只是繼續等待他的種子生長。
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace.
一年的時間終于過去了，王國里的所有年輕人都帶著他們的植物去接受皇帝的檢驗。凌跟母親說他不想帶著一個空盆去見皇帝，但母親卻鼓勵他去這樣做，希望他誠實地面對這件事。凌非常難受，但他知道母親是對的。于是，他就帶著那個空盆去了皇宮。
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."
到了皇宮，凌看到其他年輕人帶來的各種各樣的植物，感到很驚訝。它們的形狀大小各異，非常漂亮。凌把自己的空盆放在地上，許多年輕人都嘲笑他。有些人對他表示同情，說：“嗯，你畢竟嘗試了。”
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
皇帝駕到，他掃視了一下房間，并對這些年輕人致以了問候。而凌則只想躲在人群后面。“哎呀，看你們種出來的花卉植物多漂亮啊！”皇帝說，“今天，你們中的一個人將會被選定為下一任皇帝！”
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
突然間，皇帝發現了拿著空花盆站在房間后面的凌。他命令侍衛把凌帶到前面來。凌心里感到非常害怕，“皇帝一定是知道我失敗了！可能他要處死我！”
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
凌走到了人群前面，皇帝問他叫什么名字。“我叫凌。”他回答說。其他年輕人都在大笑，并取笑著他。皇帝命令所有人安靜下來。他看著凌，然后對所有人宣布：“參見你們的新皇帝！他的名字是凌！” 凌簡直無法相信這一切。他甚至連自己的種子都沒有種活，怎么可能當上新皇帝呢？
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
國王接著說：“一年前的今天，我給這里的每一個人一顆種子。我要你們帶走這顆種子，將它種下，給它澆水，然后在今天把它帶回來。但我給你們的種子都是煮過的，是無法生長的。除了凌之外，你們所有人都給我帶回來樹木和花卉。當你們發現這顆種子不會生長后，都把它替換成了其他種子。凌是唯一一個有勇氣并且誠實地把我的種子種在盆里帶回來的人。因此，他就是我選定的新國王！”