聪明的驴

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

有一天，农夫的驴掉进了井里。在农夫想办法的时候，可怜的驴叫了好几个小时。

Finally， he decided the animal was old， and the well needed to be covered up anyway； it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

最后，农夫觉得这头驴已经老了，而且这口井也需要填平，把驴救出来不太值得了。

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

他请了所有的邻居来帮忙。他们都抄起铲子，开始往井里填土。

At first， the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.

随后，驴意识到发生了什么事，便发出了令人胆战心惊的叫声。

Then， to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later the farmer finally looked down the well.

后来，令大家奇怪的是，驴安静了下来。又填了几铲土之后，农夫往井里看了看。

He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back， the donkey was doing something amazing.

他看到的情景让他惊讶不已。驴对砸在背上的每一铲土都做出了非凡之举。

He would shake it off and take a step up.

他把土抖掉，然后往上走一步。

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal， he would shake it off and take a step up.

随着农夫的邻居们不断往驴身上铲土，驴把土抖掉，再往上走一步。

Pretty soon， everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off.

很快，每个人都惊呆了——驴迈出了井口，欢快地跑了！

The donkey later came back and bit the shovel out of the farmer who had tried to bury him.

后来驴回来了，把铲子从想埋他的农夫手中咬了过来。

The gash from the bite got infected， and the farmer died in agony from septic shock.

农夫被咬过的伤口感染了。最终，他在对感染的恐惧中痛苦地死了。

Life is going to shovel dirt on you， all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.

生活会往你身上铲土，各种各样的土。从井里出来的办法就是抖掉土，往上走一步。

Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping， never giving up！ Shake it off and take a step up.

我们面对的每一个困难都是一块垫脚石。我们只要不停滞、不放弃，就一定能战胜一切困难。抖掉尘土，往上走一步。

Vocabulary

well n. 井

piteously adv. 可怜地

retrieve v. 找回

shovel v. 用铲挖； 铲起

horribly adv. 可怕地

amazement n. 吃惊

astonished adj. 吃惊的

shake v. 摇晃； 抖动

trot v. 小跑

bite v. 咬

bury v. 掩埋

infect v. 感染

agony n. 苦恼；极大的痛苦

trick n. 窍门