布鲁斯和蜘蛛

There was once a king of Scotland whose name was Robert Bruce. He had need to be both brave and wise, for the times in which he lived were wild and rude. The King of England was at war with him, and had led a great army into Scotland to drive him out of the land.

Battle after battle had been fought. Six times had Bruce led his brave little army against his foes1; and six times had his men been beaten, and driven into flight. At last his army was scattered2, and he was forced to hide himself in the woods and in lonely places among the mountains.

One rainy day, Bruce lay on the ground under a rude shed3 , listening to the sweet patter4 of the drops on the roof above him. He was tired and sick at heart, and ready to give up all hope. It seemed to him that there was no use for him to try to do anything more.

As he lay thinking, he saw a spider over his head, making ready to weave5 her web. He watched her as she toiled6 slowly and with great care. Six times she tried to throw her frail7 thread from one beam to another, and six times it fell short.

"Poor thing!" said Bruce: "you, too, know what it is to fail."

But the spider did not lose hope with the sixth failure. With still more care, she made ready to try for the seventh time. Bruce almost forgot his own troubles as he watched her swing8 herself out upon the slender9 line. Would she fail again? No! A little while, the thread was carried safely to the beam, and fastened there.

"I, too, should have tried again. I will try a seventh time!" cried Bruce.

He arose and called his men together. He told them of his plans, and sent them out with messages of cheer to his disheartened people. Soon there was anarmy of brave Scotchmen around him. Another battle was fought, and the King of England was glad to go back into his own country.

I have heard it said, that, after that day, no one by the name of Bruce would ever hurt a spider. The lesson which the little creature had taught the king was never forgotten.

从前,苏格兰有个国王,名叫罗伯特・布鲁斯。他所处的时代是个不文明的野蛮时代,因此他必须机智勇敢。英格兰国王向他开战,率领大军入侵苏格兰,要把他赶出国土。

战争一场接一场地打响。布鲁斯六次率领他的部队与敌人英勇作战,可是六次都因为寡不敌众而被打得狼狈而逃。最后,他的部队溃散了,他也被迫躲进荒僻的山林里。

一个雨天,布鲁斯躺在一间简陋小屋的地上,听着屋顶上清脆的滴滴答答的雨声。他又疲倦,又伤心,已准备放弃所有的希望了,对他来说,彷佛任何努力都是徒劳。

正当他躺着思索的时候,看见一只蜘蛛在他头上,准备吐丝织网。他注视着这只蜘蛛缓慢而费力地劳作。它六次试图把那纤弱的蛛丝从一道横梁系到另一道横梁上去。但是六次都失败了。

“可怜的东西!”布鲁斯说道,“你也知道失败的滋味。”

但是蜘蛛并没有由于六次的失败而灰心。它更加小心谨慎地准备第七次尝试。当布鲁斯看见蜘蛛在柔弱的细丝上摆动时,他几乎忘记了自己的烦恼。它会再次失败吗?不!不久,这根丝被稳妥地带到横梁上,而且牢牢地系在那儿了。

“我也应该再一次尝试的。我要做第七次尝试!”布鲁斯喊了起来。

他一跃而起,把他的士兵召集在一起,他把自己的计划告诉了他们,并且派他们把鼓舞人心的信息带给他那些已失去信心的臣民。很快地,他周围就组成了一支勇敢的苏格兰军队。另一场战斗打响了,英格兰国王被赶回了他自己的国土。

据说从那天以后,凡是叫布鲁斯的人,都不会伤害蜘蛛。这个小家伙所带给国王的启示,将被后人永远牢记。

注释:

① foe n.敌人;反对者

② scatter v.分散;驱散

③ shed n.棚,小屋

④ patter n.急速拍打声,轻快脚步声

⑤ weave v.编织;编排n.织法,织物

⑥ toil v.苦干,费力地做;跋涉

⑦ frail adj. 虚弱的,脆弱的

⑧ swing v.摇摆,摆动

⑨slender adj.微弱的;苗条的