外国语中心

a clay puppet and a wooden puppet

On the Bank of a river, there is a clay puppet and a wooden puppet.In a dry and rainless season, clay puppet and wooden puppet were together day and night.As time rolled by, the wooden puppet gradually looked down upon the clay puppet, so he always wanted to find an opportunity to laugh at it. One day, the wooden puppet said to the clay puppet with a mocking tone: "You were the soil by the river, and people kneaded it into you. When August arrives, the heavy rain falls and the river rises sharply, you will soon be soaked into a pile of mud.

The clay puppet didn't care. It said to the wooden puppet in a very serious tone, "Thank you for your concern. But things are not as terrible as you say. Now that I am a clay man made of the mud on the Bank of the river, even though I am washed out by the water and turned into a pile of mud, I just give back my original appearance and let me return to the bank. And you have to think about it carefully. You were originally an oriental peach tree, and then you were carved into a man. Once August comes, heavy rains pour down, causing the river to surge, and the rolling water will wash you away. At that time, you can only drift with the water, do not know where to drift. Man, you'd better worry more about your fate!" Shortly afterwards, after days of torrential rain, the wooden puppet was washed out of sight by the river, but the clay puppet was sleeping safely in the arms of Mother Earth. This fable tells us that those "smart people" who think they are superior should think more about their own shortcomings when they laugh at others. Only in this way can we be modest and prudent, make our progress faster, don't laugh at others, think about our shortcomings, and see the advantages of others.

木偶与泥偶

一条河畔，有一个泥塑的人偶和一个木雕的人偶。在一个天旱无雨的季节里，泥偶和木偶曾有一段朝夕相处的经历。时间一长，木偶渐渐看不起泥偶，因此总想找机会讥笑它。

一天，木偶带着嘲笑的口吻对泥偶说：“你原本是河畔的泥土，人们把泥土揉合起来捏成了你。别看你现在有模有样，神气十足，等八月一到，大雨哗哗而下，河水一下子猛涨起来，你很快就会被水泡成一堆稀泥了。”

那泥偶并不在意，它以十分严肃的口吻对木偶说：“谢谢您的关心。不过，事情并不像你所说的那样可怕。既然我是用河岸边的泥土捏成的泥人，即使被水冲得面目全非，变成了一堆稀泥，也仅仅是还了我原来的面目，让我回复到河岸罢了。而你倒是要仔细地想一想，你本来是东方的一块桃木，后来被雕成了人。一旦到了八月，大雨倾盆而下，引起河水猛涨，波浪滚滚的河水将把你冲走。那时，你只能随波逐流，不知会漂泊到什么地方。老兄，你还是多为自己的命运操操心吧！”不久之后，连续下了多日的暴雨，木偶被河水冲得不见踪影，泥偶却安然地躺在大地妈妈的怀抱里睡觉。

这则寓言告诉我们，那些自以为高人一等的“聪明人”，在嘲笑别人的时候，应该多想想自己的不足之处。只有这样，才能够保持谦虚谨慎，使自己进步得快一些，不要随便嘲笑别人，想想自己的缺点，看看别人的优点。