幾個勵志的英文小故事

01

《The secret to success》

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success, Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning.

They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue.

Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air.

Socrates asked, 「What did you want the most when you were there?」 The boy replied, 「Air.」 Socrates said, 「That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it！」

《成功的秘密》

一個年輕人向蘇格拉底詢問成功的秘訣,蘇格拉底讓年輕人第二天早晨到河邊見他。

他們見面後，蘇格拉底叫年輕人和他一起走向河裡，當河水淹至他們的脖子時，蘇格拉底出其不意地抓住年輕人並把其壓入水中，那人想要掙出水面，而強壯有力的蘇格拉底將他摁在水中直到他變得無力抗爭，臉色發青。

蘇格拉底將他的頭拖出水面，這個年輕人所做的第一件事就是大口喘息後，深吸一口氣。

蘇格拉底問： 「當你悶在水裡的時候你最想要的是什麼？」年輕人回答說：「空氣。」蘇格拉底說：「那就是成功的秘訣。當你像渴望空氣一樣渴望成功，你就能夠獲得它！」

02

《A spider and three persons》

After the rain， a difficult spider to the wall has been fragmented network， due to damp walls， it must climb the height， it will fall， which one to climb， repeatedly falling and…

A person saw， and he sighed to himself： "my life as this spider is not it? Busy but harvestless ." Thus， he increasingly depressed.

The second person also saw， he said： this spider really stupid， why do not climb up with going around the next dry place? Ill be as stupid as it can not. Thus， he becomes wise up.

The third person also saw， he immediately spiders keep the spirit of war touched. So he has become strong.

Tip： The mentality of those who are successful can be found everywhere the power of success．

《一隻蜘蛛和三個人》

雨後，一隻蜘蛛艱難地向牆上已經支離破碎的網爬去，由於牆壁潮濕，它爬到一定的高度，就會掉下來，它一次次地向上爬，一次次地又掉下來……

第一個人看到了，他嘆了一口氣，自言自語：「我的一生不正如這隻蜘蛛嗎?忙忙碌碌而無所得。」於是，他日漸消沉。

第二個人看到了，他說：這隻蜘蛛真愚蠢，為什麼不從旁邊乾燥的地方繞一下爬上去?我以後可不能像它那樣愚蠢。於是，他變得聰明起來。

第三個人看到了，他立刻被蜘蛛屢敗屢戰的精神感動了。於是，他變得堅強起來。

秘訣：有成功心態者處處都能發覺成功的力量。

03

《An uninhabited island》

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small uninhabited island.

He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. 「God how could you do this to me!」 he cried.

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

「How did you know I was here?」 asked the weary man of his rescuers.

「We saw your smoke signal,」 they replied.

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad.But we shouldnt lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.

《一座孤島》

在一場船難中，唯一的生存者隨著潮水，漂流到一座無人島上。他天天激動地祈禱神救他能夠早日離開此處，回到家鄉。他還每天注視著海上有否可搭救他的人，但卻是除了汪洋一片，什麼也沒有。

後來，他決定用那片帶他到小島的木頭造一個簡陋的小木屋，以保護他在這險惡的環境中生存，並且保存他所有剩下的東西。但有一天，在他捕完食物後，準備回小屋時，突然發現他的小屋竟然陷在熊熊烈火之中， 大火引起的濃煙不斷向天上竄。最悲慘的是：他所有的一切東西，在這一瞬間通通化為烏有了。悲痛的他，氣憤的對天吶喊著：神啊！你怎麼可以這樣對待我！頓時，眼淚從他的眼角中流出。

第二天一早，他被一艘正靠近小島的船隻的鳴笛聲所吵醒。是的，有人來救他了。

到了船上時，他問那些船員說：」你怎麼知道我在這裡？」

「因為我們看到了信號般的濃煙。」他們回答說。

人在碰到困難時，很容易會沮喪。不過無論受到折磨或者痛苦，都不用因此失去信心，因為上帝一直在我們心裏面做著奇妙的工作。

記住：當下一次你的小木屋著火時，那可能只是上帝美妙恩典的表徵而已。在所有我們所認為負面的事情，上帝都是有正面答案的。