Four Seasons of a Tree
一棵樹的四季
Don’t judge a life by one difficult season.
不要只在某人某段艱難的歲月里去判斷他的一生。
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
從前，一個父親有4個兒子。他希望兒子們能學會凡事勿匆下結論，于是輪番派遣他們到很遠的地方去尋一棵梨樹。
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.
大兒子是冬天去的，二兒子春天啟程，老三去時已是炎熱的夏季，老么于金秋時節踏上了征程。
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
待他們全都尋樹歸來以后，父親把他們叫到一起，聽他們各自描述自己的所見。
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no - it was covered with green buds and full of promise.
大兒子數落說大樹枝彎干斜，很難看。二兒子連忙否認，說樹上發滿嫩綠的新芽，生機盎然。
The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
老三不同意了，樹上明明開滿鮮花，吐露芬芳，漂亮極了。
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
他們的說法實在讓老么啞然，枝頭上墜滿的難道不是累累果實，在彰顯生機與收獲嗎?
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life.
父親解釋說，兒子們的說法都沒錯，因為他們看到的是大樹一年四個季節里的不同情景。
He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are - and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life - can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
他告訴兒子們說，不能以一季來判斷樹，更不能以一時來判斷人，因為人之本質——源自他們喜、樂、愛的根本——只有在其生之了結時，才可蓋棺論定。
If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
倘若你在冬季就已放棄，那無疑會錯過春季的生機、夏季的美麗和秋季的收益。勿為一季的痛苦而破壞了所有的歡樂。
教師介紹：努爾艾力·阿不利孜
1.CCTV希望之星全國英語演講大賽教師組全國亞軍 2.北京大學英語語言文學系學士 英語專業八級 3.北京學校優秀教師 4.東北亞大學生國會制辯論賽優秀評委 5.CCTV希望之星全國英語演講比賽高中組北京賽區評委 6.北京大學英語文化交流協會會長
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