誠實的林肯
We celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12)，and we should. Lincoln was one of the few great men who were really great. Before he became president，Lincoln spent twenty years as an unsuccessful Illinois lawyer - at least he was unsuccessful in financial terms. But when you measure the good he did，he was very rich indeed. Legends are often untrue，but Lincoln was the real thing. George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree，but Abraham Lincoln was honest. During his years as a lawyer，there were hundreds of documented examples of his honesty and decency.
每年二月十二日，我們都會紀念亞伯拉罕·林肯的誕辰。我們應該這麼做，因為林肯是少數真正的偉人中的一員。當總統之前，林肯在伊利諾州作了二十年並不成功的律師--至少從財務的角度來說，他這個律師是不成功的。但是如果計算他的善行，他則是非常富有的。傳說往往並不確切，但關於林肯的傳說是真的。喬治·華盛頓不曾砍倒一棵櫻桃樹，但是亞伯拉罕·林肯是一個誠實的人。在他做律師的期間，有案可查的關於他誠實和正派的例子有成百上千。
For example，Lincoln didn’t like to charge people much who were as poor as he was. Once a man sent him twenty？鄄five dollars，but Lincoln sent him back ten of it，saying he was being too generous.
He was known at times to convince his clients to settle their issue out of court，saving them a lot of money，and earning himself nothing.
例如，林肯不願意向像他一樣窮的人多收錢。一次一個人付給他二十五美元，但林肯說他太慷慨了，又找回了他十美元。
他經常會說服他的客戶在庭外和解，這樣能為他們省不少錢，可是林肯自己卻一無所獲。
An old woman in dire poverty，the widow of a Revolutionary soldier，was charged $200 for getting her $400 pension. Lincoln sued the pension agent and won the case for the old woman. He didn’t charge her for his services and，in fact，paid her hotel bill and gave her money to buy a ticket home！
一個極其貧窮的革命軍人的遺孀必須支付200美元才能領取400美元的養老金。林肯控告了養老金代理人，為老婦人打贏了官司。他沒有收她一分錢，事實上，他還為她付了酒店的住宿費和回家的車票錢！
He and his associate once prevented a con man from gaining possession of a tract of land owned by a mentally？鄄ill girl. The case took fifteen minutes. Lincoln’s associate came to divide up their fee，but Lincoln reprimanded him. His associate argued that the girl’s brother had agreed on the fee ahead of time，and he was completely satisfied.
"That may be，"said Lincoln，‘but I am not satisfied. That money comes out of the pocket of a poor，demented girl； and I would rather starve than swindle her in this manner. You return half the money at least，or I’ll not take a cent of it as my share."
他和他的合夥人曾經阻止了一個騙子從一個精神不正常的女孩那裏騙走一大片土地。這個案子的審判花了十五分鍾。結束後，林肯的合夥人準備均分這筆訴訟費，但是林肯批評了他。合夥人爭辯說女孩的兄弟提前就答應了，而且他對結果很滿意。
"也許是這樣。"林肯說，"但我不滿意。我寧可餓死，也不會從那個可憐的女孩那拿錢。你至少要把一半錢的錢返還給她，要不然我那份我一分錢也不拿。"
He was a fool，perhaps，by certain standards. He didn’t have much，and it was his own fault. But he was a good human being by anyone’s standards and I’m glad we celebrate his birthday.
Honesty makes you feel good about yourself and creates trust in others. It improves your relationship with yourself and with others. It’s not much in fashion these days to talk about the benefits of honesty and decency，but the benefits are there and they are valuable and worth the trouble.
以某種標準來看，他也許很傻。他沒發財，這是他自己的問題。但是以任何人的標準來說，他都是一個好人。我很高興我們紀念他的誕辰。
誠實使你對自己滿意並信賴他人。它改善你和自己以及他人的關係。現在談論誠實和正派的好處似乎不合時宜，但是這好處是確實存在的，而且值得為此承擔麻煩。
Lincoln didn’t talk much about religion，even with his best friends，and he didn’t belong to any church. But he once confided to a friend that his religious code was the same as an old man he knew in Indiana，who said，"When I do good，I feel good； and when I do bad，I feel bad. That’s my religion."
Honesty. It may be corny，but it’s the finest force for good in the world，and it always will be.
甚至和他最好的朋友，林肯也很少談論宗教。他不屬於任何教會。但是他曾經向朋友吐露說，他的宗教法則和一個印地安那州的老人一樣。老人說："做好事時，我感覺快樂。做壞事時，我覺得難受。這就是我的宗教。"
誠實，可能是個土氣的字眼，但它是拯救世界的最美好的力量，而且永遠如此。
人和小猴
Once upon a time，a man was passing through a jungle. He saw a monkey and was attracted to it. He called the monkey and to his surprise，the monkey came near him.
The man told the monkey that it was his ancestor and so they should cultivate friendship. With different kinds of gestures，he was able to establish friendship with it.
從前，一個人經過一片叢林。他看見一隻猴子並被它吸引。他叫那隻猴子，出乎他的意料，猴子真地來到他身邊。
男人告訴猴子它是他的祖先，因此他們應該建立友誼。通過不同的手勢，他真地和它建立了友誼。
The man was just trying to kill time using the monkey as company while crossing the jungle.
Suddenly unexpectedly，a lion roared fiercely and pounced in front of them. They scarcely had time to escape. The monkey ran and the man followed suit. They found a very huge tree and soon climbed it. Though they were breathless，they did not stop until they climbed to a safe height.
男人希望在穿越叢林時有猴子作伴解悶。
突然，一隻獅子咆哮著撲到他們麵前。他們幾乎沒時間逃跑。猴子在前麵跑，男人在後麵緊緊跟隨。他們發現一棵大樹並很快爬了上去。雖然上氣不接下氣，但他們還是一鼓作氣爬到了安全的高度。
The lion continued to prowl here and there，hoping to catch them when they climbed down. The lion was angry and hungry and awaiting his prey. It finally sat down under the tree.
The man was clinging to one of the strong branches，while the monkey was sitting on a branch with ease，as if nothing had happened.
After a prolonged wait，the lion lost patience and proposed to let one of them go if the other was offered to him as "food".
獅子繼續四處徘徊，希望在他們下樹時抓住他們。獅子又氣又餓地等著它的獵物。最後，它索性在樹下坐了下來。
男人緊緊抱住一根最大的樹枝，而猴子則若無其事地坐在另外一根樹枝上。
等了很久之後，獅子等得不耐煩了。它提出如果他們中的一個給它當"食物"的話，另一個可以離開。
The man and the monkey consulted each other. They even offered to sacrifice their lives for each other，but ultimately concluded that they would live and die together.
The lion was disappointed，but not dissuaded. He continued his vigil. Nevertheless，the wait on the tree proved a testing time for both the monkey and the man.
They were feeling drowsy. They were both faced with the danger of falling down while dozing on the tree. Ultimately they decided to take turns to sleep.
男人和猴子商量了一下，他們表示為了對方願意犧牲自己的生命，不過最後他們決定同生共死。
獅子很失望，但是它不想放棄。他繼續守在樹下。這對於猴子和男人來說都是一個考驗。
他們覺得昏昏欲睡。在樹上打瞌睡的話，他們有可能會掉下去。最後他們決定輪流睡覺。
The monkey would sit wide？鄄awake while the man slept and the man would keep vigil while the monkey had his share of sleep.
As decided，it was the man’s turn to sleep first，while the monkey kept guard. The monkey slept in the other half of the night，while the man held fort.
When the monkey was fast asleep，the man started contem？鄄
plating. He thought that if he pushed away the sleeping monkey，the lion，as promised，would allow him to go.
Immediately，he translated his thoughts into action. The monkey was in deep slumber. The man pushed it down.
男人睡覺的時候，猴子就保持著清醒。而當猴子睡覺的時候，男人就去守夜。
就像他們商量好的那樣，男人首先睡覺，而猴子負責警戒。下半夜，猴子睡了，由男人負責警戒。
看到猴子睡得很熟，男人開始尋思。他想如果把睡著的猴子推下去，獅子會遵守諾言，讓他平安離去。