The Sword of Peace 和平之劍

“十年磨一劍，霜刃未曾試”，作為一把寶劍，哪個不愿決戰沙場，大展雄風？但是，有一把寶劍卻不喜歡這樣的宿命。相反，它幫人類化干戈為玉帛，換來了來之不易的和平。

Once upon a time there was a precious sword and it belonged to a great king. One day a great dispute broke out between this king and the king of a neighboring country. It ended with both declaring war.

The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was， and would become renowned throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line， the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However， when they arrived， the first battle had already taken place， and the sword got to see the results of war. What the sword saw had nothing in common with what it had imagined. No elegant shining knights， triumphant1）， with their weapons gleaming in the sunlight. Instead， everything was covered in dirt and shrouded2） in a disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground， bleeding from multiple wounds ...

At this， the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace. So， on the night before what was going to be the big final battle， the sword started to vibrate3）. First it gave out a low buzz， but this gradually got louder， until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armor4） of the other soldiers asked the king's sword what it was doing. It told them， \"I don't want there to be a battle tomorrow. I don't like war.\"

One answered， \"No one likes it， but what can we do？\"

\"Make yourself vibrate， just like I'm doing，\" said the king's sword.

So the weapons started vibrating. The noise was so loud that it reached the enemy camp， and the weapons there， who were equally sick of the war， joined the protest.

The next morning， when the battle should have begun， not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep， not even the kings or the generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on5） sleep. During the evening they started to wake up， and decided to put off the battle for the next day. However， the weapons， led by the king's sword， spent the night repeating their peace song， and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again， and this carried on for the next seven days.

On the evening of the seventh day， the kings of the two armies met to see what they could do about the situation. Both were furious from their previous dispute， but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights， the surprise on their soldiers' faces， the confusion of day with night， and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasn't long before both were laughing， like friends， at these little stories.

Fortunately， they forgot their old dispute and put an end to the war， each returning to their own land with the double joy of not having had to fight， and having regained a friend. And from then on， from time to time the kings would meet up to talk about their experiences as kings. They now understood that the things which united them were much more numerous than anything that set them apart from each other.

很久以前，有一把珍貴的寶劍，它屬于一位偉大的國王。有一天，這位國王和鄰國的國王之間發生了很大的沖突，最后雙方都決定宣戰。

寶劍感到無比興奮，因為它有望參與其人生中第一次真正的戰役。它要向所有人展示自己有多么勇敢和獨特，它要讓自己享譽全國。在去往前線的路上，寶劍一直幻想著自己在許多戰役中獲得了勝利。然而，當它和國王抵達戰場時，第一場戰役已經結束了，寶劍只能看到戰后的情形。映入眼簾的場景與它之前想象的完全不同，這里沒有舉止優雅、穿著明亮盔甲的騎士，他們沒有歡欣鼓舞，手中的兵器也沒有在陽光下閃閃發光。相反，這里的一切都被塵土遮蓋，四處彌漫著一股令人作嘔的氣味。很多人都奄奄一息地倒在戰場各處，遍體鱗傷、鮮血淋漓……

目睹此景，寶劍意識到自己一點都不喜歡戰爭，也不喜歡戰斗。它下定決心，寧愿過平靜的生活。因此，在大決戰前夕，寶劍開始振動起來。最初它只是發出低低的嗡鳴聲，但這聲音逐漸變大，直至最后變成了惱人的金屬噪音。其他士兵的刀劍和盔甲都問國王的寶劍它在做什么。寶劍告訴它們：“我不想讓他們明天打仗，我不喜歡戰爭。”

一件兵器回答說：“沒有人喜歡戰爭，但是我們又能怎么辦呢？”

“你們也振動起來，就像我現在這樣。”國王的寶劍說。

就這樣，所有的兵器都開始振動。噪音響徹云霄，都傳到了敵營，那里的兵器也同樣討厭戰爭，于是也加入了抗議的行列。

第二天一早，大決戰本該打響，可卻沒有一個士兵做好了戰斗的準備。所有人整夜都沒能合眼睡上哪怕一小會兒，即便是兩位國王和雙方的將軍們也不例外。于是，他們整個白天都在補覺，到了晚上才睡醒，于是決定把戰斗推遲到第二天。然而，在那位國王的寶劍的帶領之下，所有的兵器一整夜又在重復它們的和平之歌，士兵們再一次無法入眠，決戰也不得不再次推遲。這種狀況又持續了整整七天。

到了第七天的晚上，雙方的國王會面商討該如何處理這一局面。雙方都還因之前的沖突而怒氣沖沖，但相處了一會兒之后，他們就談論起了那些無法入眠的夜晚、士兵們的驚詫神情、那日夜顛倒的混亂以及這一切造成的可笑場面。沒過多久，兩位國王就像朋友一樣因為這些小故事哈哈大笑起來。

幸運的是，他們都忘記了之前的沖突，雙方宣告停戰，回到了各自的國家，享受著不必打仗和朋友失而復得的雙重喜悅。從那以后，兩位國王還會時不時地見見面，聊聊當國王的經歷。他們現在明白，讓他們能和睦相處的事情遠遠要比那些使他們決裂的事情多。

1.triumphant [tra???mf?nt] adj. （因勝利或成功）歡欣鼓舞的

2.shroud [?ra?d] vt. 覆蓋，遮蔽

3.vibrate [va??bre?t] vi. 振動，顫動，震動

4.armor [?ɑ?m?（r）] n. 盔甲

5.catch up on： 趕完，彌補（耽擱下來的工作、睡眠等）