有裂痕的罐子

A water bearer in India had two large pots， each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it， and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house， the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily， with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house.

Of course， the perfect pot was proud of its accom-plishments， perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection， and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure， it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself， and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why？” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of？”

“I have been able， for these past two years， to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws， you have to do all of this work， and you don’t get full value from your efforts，” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot， and in his compassion he said， “As we return to the master’s house， I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed， as they went up the hill， the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path， and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail， it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load， and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot， “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path， but not on the other pot’s side？ That’s because I have always known about your flaw， and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path， and every day while we walk back from the stream， you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are， he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

印度有一個挑水工，他有兩個大罐子，分別掛在肩上的扁擔兩頭。

其中一個罐子上面有一道裂縫，而另一個則做工精細，總能打回滿滿一罐水。

每當挑水工從溪邊回到雇主家時，有裂縫的罐子里的水就只剩一半了。

這樣過了整整兩年，這個挑水工每天挑到雇主家的水僅有一罐半。

當然，那個完好的罐子為自己的成就甚感自豪，它就是為完美挑水而生的。

而那個可憐的有裂縫的罐子卻因自身的瑕疵而羞愧不已，為自己只能裝一半水而痛苦不堪。

痛苦了兩年后，一天，那個有裂縫的罐子在小溪邊對挑水工說：

“我很慚愧，我想向你道歉?！?/p>

“為什么？”挑水工問，“你羞愧什么呢？”

“為這兩年來只能讓你挑回一半的水而道歉。因為我身上的這個裂縫，每次你回雇主家的路上，水都在漏，到雇主家時就只剩下半罐水了。正是因為我的裂縫，你不得不多挑幾次水，而你又沒獲得你全額的工錢?！惫拮诱f道。

挑水工對這個有裂痕的舊罐子感到很抱歉，他同情地說道：“當我們返回雇主家時，我希望你能留心路旁那些美麗的花朵?！?/p>

的確如此，當他們上山時，這個有裂縫的舊罐子注意到了路旁的野花，它們沐浴在陽光中非常漂亮，而這些畫面使它高興了一些。

但走完這段小路，它又為自己漏了一半水而難過起來，于是它再次為自己的失敗向挑水工道歉。

挑水工對罐子說：“你注意到了嗎？你這邊沿路都有花，而另一邊就沒有？那是因為我早就注意到了你的裂縫，而我就利用了這一點。我在你這側的路邊種上花籽。每天，我們從小溪回來時，你就給它們澆了水。這兩年，我就采這些漂亮的花朵來裝點雇主的餐桌。倘若你不漏水，他就沒有這么美麗的鮮花來裝飾屋子了?！?/p>

bearer n. 搬運工人；送信人；持票人

pot n. 罐；一罐

pole n. 桿；極點，頂點

crack n. 裂縫；縫隙

deliver v. 遞送；發表；交付

portion n. 一部分

ashamed adj. 慚愧的，羞恥的，害臊的

imperfection n. 不完美；缺點，瑕疵

miserable adj. 悲慘的；令人痛苦的

accomplish v. 完成；達到（目的）

perceive v. 意識到；察覺，發覺

bitter adj. 苦的；尖銳的

load n. 負荷；負擔；裝載；工作量

leak out 漏出，滲出，泄露；走風

value n. 價值，價格

effort n. 努力，嘗試

compassion n. 憐憫；同情

take advantage of 利用；欺騙，占……的便宜

seed n. 種子；子孫

decorate v. 裝飾；點綴

grace v. 使優美；惠賜