評(píng)論
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A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
印度有一個(gè)挑水工，他有兩個(gè)大罐子，分別掛在肩上的扁擔(dān)兩頭。其中一個(gè)罐子做工精細(xì)，從不漏水，另一個(gè)上面則有一道裂縫。每當(dāng)挑水工回到雇主家時(shí)，罐子里的水就只剩一半了。
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
這樣過了整整兩年，這個(gè)挑水工每天挑到雇主家的水僅有一罐半。當(dāng)然，那個(gè)完好的罐子為自己的成就甚感自豪。而那個(gè)可憐的有裂縫的罐子卻因自身的瑕疵而羞愧不已，為自己只能裝一半水而痛苦不堪。 痛苦了兩年后，一天，那個(gè)有裂縫的罐子在小溪邊對(duì)挑水工說：
"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
我很慚愧，想向你道歉。”
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
“為什么？”挑水工問，“你羞愧什么呢？”
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
“為這兩年來只能讓你挑回一半的水。因?yàn)槲疑砩系倪@個(gè)裂縫，每次你回雇主家的路上，水都在漏，到家時(shí)就只剩下半罐了。正是我的裂縫，你不得不多挑幾次水，這樣就浪費(fèi)了你的部分勞動(dòng)價(jià)值。”罐子說道。
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."
挑水工對(duì)這個(gè)有裂痕的舊罐子感到很抱歉，他同情地說道：“當(dāng)我們返回雇主家時(shí)，我希望你能留心路旁那些美麗的花朵。”
