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Lesson 45 The Parable of the Mule
第45課 騾子的寓言
Once there was a farmer who owned an old mule. One day the mule fell into the farmer's well. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbours together, told them what had happened and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
從前，農夫有一頭騾子。一天，騾子掉進了農夫的井里。仔細估量了形勢后，農夫雖然很同情騾子，他還是判定不管是騾子還是井都不值得挽救了。他把鄰居們召集起來，告訴了他們所發生的一切，并要他們幫忙運土把老騾子埋在井里，使它不再痛苦。
Initially, the old mule was hysterical. But as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back he could shake it off and step up. This he did, blow after blow.
開始，老騾子有點歇斯底里。但是當農夫和他的鄰居們繼續鏟土并且土不斷地打在騾子背上的時候，騾子突然想到了一個主意。他意識到，他可以把落在背上的每一锨土抖下來，踩在腳下，自己就可以站高一點。他這樣做了，土一锨锨的砸下來。
"Shake it off and step up... shake it off and step up... shake it off and step up!" He repeated this to encourage himself.
“抖下來，站高一點...抖下來，站高一點...抖下來，站高一點！”他不斷地重復著來激勵自己。
No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up.It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like a burial actually saved him...all because of the manner in which the mule handled his adversity.
不管土打在背上有多痛，不管形勢是多么令人痛苦，老騾子堅持不懈地把土抖下來，站高一點。沒過多久，遍體鱗傷、精疲力盡的老騾子成功地從井里走了出來。看似葬禮的一件事居然救了他，這都是因為他以一種不同的方式來應對苦難。
That's life. If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity ...The adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them real potential to benefit us.
這就是生活。如果我們能面對我們的問題并以積極的態度來應對，而不屈服于驚慌、悲傷或者自憐...
我們其實可以從看起來會埋葬我們的苦難中受益。
