張祖平

Once there was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of serenity. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked， and he had to choose between them.

從前有一個(gè)國王，他要懸賞一位能畫出表現(xiàn)寧靜這一主題的最好的畫的畫家。很多畫家都一試身手，國王看了所有的畫，但是只有兩幅畫他真的很喜歡，國王必須兩者選其一。

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for serene towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy2 white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of serenity.

其中一幅畫的是一個(gè)平靜的湖面，波平如鏡，倒影著四周環(huán)繞的群山，頭頂是一片飄著絨毛似的白云的藍(lán)天。所有看過這幅畫的人都認(rèn)為它是一個(gè)表現(xiàn)平靜的好作品。

The other picture had mountains， too. But these were rugged3 and bare. Above was an angry sky， from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming4 waterfall. This did not look serene at all.

另外一幅畫也有高山。但是這些山崎嶇不平，一片荒蕪，上方是狂躁的天空，電閃雨潑，山腳下是一掛飛濺的瀑布，這看上去一點(diǎn)也不寧靜。

But when the king looked closely， he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack5 in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There， in the midst of the rushing water， sat the mother bird on her nest——in perfect serenity.

但是當(dāng)國王仔細(xì)一看時(shí)，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了瀑布后面有一小從灌木，長在巖石縫里。灌木叢中，鳥媽媽筑好了鳥窩——急流之間，鳥媽媽安祥地蹲在窩里。

Which picture do you think won the prize？ The king chose the second picture. Do you know why？

你認(rèn)為哪幅畫會勝出呢？國王選擇了第二幅，你知道為什么嗎？

“Because，” explained the king， “serenity does not mean to be in a place where there is no

noise and trouble. Serenity means to be in the midst of all those things but still keep calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of serenity.”

“因?yàn)?，”國王解釋道，“寧靜并不意味一個(gè)沒有喧囂和繁瑣的地方。寧靜意味著即使你身處塵囂仍然能心靜如水，那才是寧靜的真諦?！眅ndprint