一捆木棍

字幕原文

An old farmer had several sons who were always quarreling. 有个老农夫养了几个儿子，成天吵个没完。

No matter what he said, they wouldn't stop. 不管他怎么劝，他们就是不肯停下。

One day, he called them together and handed each of them a single stick. 有一天，他把儿子们叫到一起，递给每人一根木棍。

"Break it," he said. “折断它，”他说。

Easy — each stick snapped in two at once. 太简单了——每根木棍一下子都断成了两半。

Then he tied seven sticks into a tight bundle and passed it around. 接着，他把七根木棍紧紧地绑成一捆，递给他们轮流试。

"Now break that." “现在把它折断试试。”

They pushed, they strained, 他们使劲掰、拼命扭，

they leaned on it with all their weight — 连整个人的重量都压了上去——

but the bundle wouldn't break. 但那捆木棍硬是折不断。

The old man smiled. 老人笑了笑。

"You see? “看到了吧？

On your own, you snap like a single stick. 单打独斗，你们就跟单根木棍一样，一折就断。

But stand together, and nothing can break you." 但只要抱成一团，就没有什么能折断你们。”

The sons looked at each other, a little ashamed, 儿子们面面相觑，心里都有些惭愧，

and from that day they quarreled far less. 打那以后，他们吵架的次数少多了。

It's an old lesson, but a true one: 这个道理虽然老套，但确实不假：

apart, we're fragile; together, we're almost impossible to break. 分散开来，我们脆弱不堪；团结一心，便坚不可摧。