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2.  Finding a New Spring  喜获甘泉

—— Perseverance  持之以恒

Once upon a time, a certain tradesman was leading a caravan to another country to sell his goods. Along the way they came to the edge of a severe hot-sand desert. They asked about, and found that during the daytime the sun heats up the fine sand until it's as hot as charcoal, so no one can walk on it -- not even bullocks or camels! So the caravan leader hired a desert guide, one who could follow the stars, so they could travel only at night when the sand cools down. They began the dangerous night-time journey across the desert.

很久以前，有个大商人带领商队去另一个国家卖货。来到一片酷热的沙漠边缘。他们左右打听，得知白天细沙会被太阳烤得像火炭，根本不能供人行走——甚至骆驼或牛群也不敢在上面行走！因此，商队雇了一个沙漠向导，他能根据天空明星的方位引路：这样，商队就可以趁沙地冷却的晚上赶路。于是他们开始了夜间穿越沙漠的危险之旅。

A couple of nights later, after eating their evening meal, and waiting for the sand to cool, they started out again. Later that night, the desert guide, who was driving the first cart, saw from the stars that they were getting close to the other side of the desert. He had also overeaten, so that when he relaxed, he dozed off to sleep. Then the bullocks who, of course, couldn't tell directions by reading the stars, gradually turned to the side and went in a big wide circle until they ended up at the same place they had started from!

一连几夜，他们都在晚饭后，等沙地冷却了，才继续上路。那天深夜，向导驾着牛车引领商队前进，他仰观星星的方位，明白他们已快走出沙漠了。这个向导晚饭吃得过饱，心情放松，就打起盹来，然后睡着了。而牛当然没有观星辨位的本事，于是车队逐渐偏离了正确方向，绕了个大圈子，竟然回到了前晚的出发点！

By then it was morning, and the people realized they were back at the same spot they'd camped at the day before. They lost heart and began to cry about their condition. Since the desert-crossing was supposed to be over by now, they had no more water and were afraid they would die of thirst. They even began to blame the caravan leader and the desert guide -- "We can do nothing without water!", they complained.

天亮时，他们才察觉回到了原地。当下，大伙儿灰心丧气，放声大哭。若一切顺利，他们这时已穿越沙漠，所以滴水不剩。大伙儿发愁：这下子会渴死了。他们甚至开始责怪商主和向导，抱怨道：“没有水可怎么办啊！”

Then the tradesman thought to himself, "If I lose courage now, in the middle of this disastrous situation, my leadership has no meaning. If I fall to weeping and regretting this misfortune, and do nothing, all these goods and bullocks and even the lives of the people, including myself, may be lost. I must be energetic and face the situation!" So he began walking back and forth, trying to think out a plan to save them all.

商人心想，“在这种危难时刻，如果我胆小懦弱，还有什么资格当商主呢？连我也哭哭啼啼，怨天尤人，束手待毙，那么全部货物、牛群及所有人都要完蛋。我必须振作起来，勇敢面对现实！”于是他来回踱步，试图想出一个救命良策。

Remaining alert, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small clump of grass. He thought, "Without water, no plant could live in this desert." So he called over the most energetic of his fellow travelers and asked them to dig up the ground on that very spot. They dug and dug,and after a while they got down to a large stone. Seeing it, they stopped, and began to blame the leader again, saying, "This effort is useless. We're just wasting our time!" But the tradesman replied, "No, no, my friends, if we give up the effort, we will all be ruined and our poor animals will die -- let us be encouraged!"

在动脑子的同时，商人忽然瞥见地上有一小丛青草，想道：“沙漠中的任何植物都需要水。”于是他叫来几个身强力壮的手下，命令他们在草丛处挖掘。他们挖了好一会儿，却挖到一块大石头，便停了下来，又埋怨商人：“真是徒劳无功。我们根本在浪费时间！”但商人答道：“不会的，朋友们，如果大家就此放弃，我们和可怜的牛群只有死路一条——再加把劲！”

As he said this, he got down into the hole, put his ear to the stone, and heard the sound of flowing water. Immediately, he called over a boy who had been digging and said, "If you give up, we will all perish -- so take this heavy hammer and strike the rock."

商人边说边往下走进挖出的洞里，把耳朵贴在石头上，真地听见了水流声！他立即叫来挖洞的一个大汉，说：“如果你放弃的话，我们非死不可——那么拿起这把重锤，砸碎这块石头吧。”

The boy lifted the hammer over his head and hit the rock as hard as he could -- and he himself was the most surprised when the rock spilt in two and a mighty flow of water gushed out from under it! Suddenly, all the people were overjoyed. They drank and bathed and washed the animals and cooked their food and ate.

大汉把铁锤高举过头，使尽全身力气砸向大石头——当石块一分为二时，一股水流猛地涌出来，他愣住了！大伙儿欣喜若狂。他们尽情地畅饮甘泉，以水浴身，擦洗牲畜，煮东西吃。

Before they left, they raised a high banner so that other travelers could see it from afar and come to the new spring in the middle of the hot-sand desert. Then they continued on safely to the end of their journey.

离开前，他们在水源处竖起一面旗帜，以便其他的客商可从远处看到标记，找到炙热沙漠中央的甘泉。然后，他们便安然走出了沙漠。

The moral is. Don't give up too easily - keep on trying until you reach the goal.

这则故事告诉我们：凡事不要轻易放弃，未达目标绝不中止。