The Old Man and His Three Sons
An old man had three sons. The eldest was an extraordinary sailor—tough, brave, dutiful and adventurous. The old man loved him indeed, thinking he was the kind of son for a father to be proud of. But caught in a tempest on the sea,this tough and brave son of his was engulfed in the stormy waves.
His second son was a strong coal miner, stronger than the other miners. No hard work could ever fatigue him.Besides, he was honest and trustworthy, willing to help others. Therefore, his fellow miners, especially the young ones,sought for his friendship and took pleasure in being friends with him. His father cherished him as a godsend—a great compensation for the loss of his eldest son. But unfortunately, he also lost his life in a brave act of self-sacrifice. One day,when he was working down the pit, the props, damaged, gave way and the pit caved in. He grasped one prop that was about to fall and held fast to it. Many of the miners got out of danger, but he was crushed in the pit.
There were no words to describe how grieved the old man was. Soon he became weak and flabby. However, he had another son—the youngest one—to fall back on. This time he changed his mind. He did not encourage him to become a hero, because he could no longer stand the poignancy of losing his last child. He sighed, ―I would rather he be a mediocrity than a talented person losing his life.‖ He set about educating him in such a way that even old women would not adopt in educating their granddaughters. And this son of his turned out to be very obedient—he didn‘t let him down.In other words, he became a weak, selfish and worthless person. It was not until then that the old man found himself a sad and most unfortunate man he had never been before. He was full of remorse for the mistake he had made. He said in a tone filled with anger and pity for his son, “This is what is called good-for-nothing. He has now become the very kind of person I dislike. I am to blame though, for I‘ve made him like this with my own doing. Ah, I wonder if life has any meaning to such a creature, though he is not drowned in the sea, nor buried in the pit.”
The old man could not bring himself to love his son anymore, for he could only love stormy seas, lofty mountains and heroic people like his first two sons. Being a father, he was now suffering from a broken heart—a punishment brought on himself for ruining his youngest son as a result of his own mistake.
老人和他的三个儿子
一位老人有三个儿子。 大儿子是一位非凡的水手: 坚强、 勇敢、 尽职, 而且富于冒险精神。 老人深爱着他,认为他值得自己为之骄傲自豪。 可是, 在一次海上风暴中, 这个坚强勇敢的儿子却葬身于惊涛骇浪之中。
二儿子是一个强壮的煤矿工人, 比其他矿工都强壮。 无论工作多么艰苦, 他都不知疲倦。 他还诚实守信, 乐于助人, 因此矿工们, 尤其是年轻人都渴望也乐于和他做朋友。 他父亲把他视为天赐之物, 是对失去长子的巨大补偿。 但不幸的是, 他也在一次见义勇为的行动中失去了生命。 那天他在煤矿中工作, 矿坑因为支柱损坏而崩坍,他抓住一根快要掉下来的支柱, 牢牢地撑住。 许多矿工得以脱离危险, 而他自己却被压死在矿坑里。
老人的伤痛溢于言表, 很快他变得虚弱无力。 不过, 他还有一个小儿子, 这是他唯一的安慰。 老人改变了主意, 他不再鼓励儿子成为英雄人物, 因为他实在不能再忍受失去最后一个儿子的痛苦。 他叹息着说: “我宁愿他是一个平庸之人, 也不愿意他有才华却丢了命。” 老人开始亲自教育这个小儿子, 他采取了连那些老婆婆们教育孙女都很少用的方法。 而这个小儿子, 也真孝顺, 果然没有叫父亲失望。 换句话说, 他成了一个懦弱、 自私、 一无是处的人。 直到这个时候, 老人才感到前所未有的悲哀和不幸。 他对自己犯下的错误悔恨无比, 用愤恨又怜悯的语气对儿子说: “这就是所谓的无能鼠辈, 是我最厌恶的一类人。 都是我的错, 是我亲手把他变成如此这般!哎, 虽然他没有被海浪吞噬, 没有被矿洞掩埋, 但对他这具形骸来说, 活着到底有什么意义呢? ”
老人实在无法再爱他的小儿子, 因为他只能爱波澜壮阔的海, 巍峨坚实的山, 以及像他大儿子、 二儿子那样的英雄人物。 作为一个父亲, 他现在正遭受心碎的惩罚, 因为他自己的错误毁掉了他最小的儿子。