The Proud Red Rose | 驕傲的紅玫瑰
One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby said, “What a beautiful flower! I wish I was that lovely.” Another tree said, “Dear pine, do not be sad. We cannot have everything.”
一個美麗的春天，一朵紅玫瑰在森林裡綻放。當玫瑰環顧四周時，附近的一棵松樹說：“多麼美麗的花！我真希望我也能這麼美麗！”。另一棵樹說：“親愛的松樹，不要難過。我們不能擁有一切。”
The rose turned and remarked, “It seems that I am the most beautiful flower in this forest.”
玫瑰轉過身說：“我好像是這片森林裡最美麗的花。”
A sunflower raised its yellow head and asked, “Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful flowers. You are just one of them.”
一朵向日葵抬起黃色的頭問道：“你為什麼這麼說？在這片森林裡有許多美麗的花。你只是其中之一。”
The red rose replied, “I see everyone looking at me and admiring me.” Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, “Look at that ugly plant full of thorns!”
紅玫瑰回答說：“我看到每個人都在看著我，羨慕我。”然後玫瑰看著仙人掌說：“看看那棵長滿荊棘的醜陋的植物！”
The pine tree said, “Red rose, what kind of talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too.”
松樹說：“紅玫瑰，這是什麼話？誰能說出到底什麼是真正的美？況且你也有刺。”
The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, “I thought you had good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You cannot compare my thorns to that of the cactus.”
驕傲的紅玫瑰憤怒地看著松樹說：“我以為你很有品味！你根本不知道什麼是美。你不能把我的刺和仙人掌的刺相比。”
“What a proud flower,” thought the trees.
“多麼驕傲的花啊，”樹想。
The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say insulting things, like ‘this plant is useless. How sorry I am to be his neighbor.’
玫瑰想把根從仙人掌上移開，但它動不了。日子一天天過去，紅玫瑰會看著仙人掌說些侮辱性的話，比如“這種植物沒用，我很抱歉成為他的鄰居 ”等等。
The cactus never got upset and even tried to advise the rose, saying, “God did not create any form of life without a purpose.”
仙人掌從不沮喪，甚至試圖勸告玫瑰說：“上帝不會無緣無故的創造任何一種生命。”
Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in the forest, as there was no rain. The red rose began to wilt.
春天過去了，天氣變得非常暖和。由於沒有下雨，森林裡的生活變得很困難。紅玫瑰開始枯萎了。
One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that the birds were getting water from the cactus.
一天，玫瑰看到麻雀把它們的喙伸進仙人掌裡，然後飛走，精神煥發。這令人費解，紅玫瑰問松樹鳥兒在幹什麼。松樹解釋說這些鳥是從仙人掌中取水的。
“Does it not hurt when they make holes?” asked the rose.
“他們打洞不疼嗎？“玫瑰問。
“Yes, but the cactus does not like to see the birds suffer,” replied the pine.
“是的，但是仙人掌不喜歡看到鳥兒受苦，”松樹回答。
The rose opened its eyes in wonder and exclaimed, “The cactus has water?”
玫瑰驚奇地睜開眼睛，喊道：“仙人掌有水嗎？”
“Yes, you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you ask the cactus for help.”
“是的，你也可以喝。如果你向仙人掌求助，麻雀可以給你帶水來。”
The red rose felt too ashamed to ask for water from the cactus, but finally it did ask for help. The cactus kindly agreed. The birds filled their beaks with water and watered the rose’s roots.
紅玫瑰羞於向仙人掌要水，但最後還是請求了幫助。仙人掌和藹地同意了。鳥兒用嘴灌滿水，給玫瑰的根部澆水。
Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by their appearance again.
就這樣，玫瑰真真切切的上了一課，從此再也不以貌取人了。
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