那些給我智慧和勇氣的寓言故事16：擺渡費(fèi)

There was once a boatman who earned his living by transporting passengers from one side of the riverbank to the other.

很久以前，有個(gè)擺渡的人，他用船把人們從岸的這邊送到對(duì)岸，以此賺錢為生。

One particular day, while he was resting, a businessman came and asked impolitely,“Transport me to the opposite side of the river.”

有一天，他正在休息時(shí)，一個(gè)商人過(guò)來(lái)很不客氣地說(shuō)：“把我送到對(duì)岸去!”

“Yes, please come aboard,”answered the boatman.

“知道了，請(qǐng)上船吧。”艄公說(shuō)。

“How much do you charge for the trip?”asked the businessman.

“擺渡費(fèi)是多少?”商人說(shuō)。

“Eight coins each way,”answered the boatman.

“單程八文錢。”艄公答道。

“Eight coins!”exclaimed the businessman.“That is too expensive! I will pay you six coins.”

“八文，”商人嚷道，“太貴了，六文吧!”

The boatman then began the journey without saying a word. He rowed and rowed towards the opposite bank. When he was about to reach the other side, he stopped and said,“You may get down here.”

艄公沒(méi)有跟他爭(zhēng)論，便搖著櫓，慢慢地向?qū)Π秳澣?。?dāng)來(lái)到離對(duì)岸不遠(yuǎn)時(shí)，艄公停住船說(shuō)：“請(qǐng)下船吧。”

The businessman was shocked,“You expect me to get off here, right into the river?”

商人驚訝地說(shuō)：“在這兒下船?想讓我掉河里嗎?”

The boatman replied politely,“Six coins will only take you here, and eight coins will take you to the riverbank.”

艄公禮貌地說(shuō)：“六文錢就只能送到這兒了，八文錢可以送到對(duì)岸。”

The businessman then said,“Well then, take me back to where we came from.”He thought the boatman would think it troublesome to send him back and would just send him to the other side.

商人說(shuō)：“好吧，你把我送回剛才來(lái)的岸邊吧。”商人心想他這么一說(shuō)，艄公會(huì)覺(jué)得再返回剛才那岸邊太麻煩了，便會(huì)把他送到對(duì)岸。

The boatman just replied,“Sure!”He then began to row back to where they began their journey. When they arrived, the boatman said,“Altogether twelve coins, six coins each way.”

艄公卻說(shuō)：“好的。”然后他把船劃回原來(lái)的岸邊。這時(shí)，艄公說(shuō)：“去六文，回六文，一共十二文。”

The businessman then realised that the boatman was really serious about it. Then he said,“I am sorry, I will pay you the full fare. Please send me over to the other side now.”

商人意識(shí)到艄公是認(rèn)真的，便說(shuō)：“是我不好，我會(huì)付所有的擺渡費(fèi)的，現(xiàn)在請(qǐng)把我送到對(duì)岸去吧!”

The boatman began to row towards the opposite riverbank.

于是，艄公又送他到對(duì)岸去。

So how much did the businessman have to pay finally? Well, twelve coins plus eight coins, a total of twenty coins!

那么，商人一共要付多少擺渡費(fèi)呢?十二文加八文，一共二十文錢。

單詞注解

courage ['k?rid?] n.勇氣;膽量

transport [træns'p?:t;] v.運(yùn)送，運(yùn)輸

riverbank ['r?v?bæ?k] n.河岸;河堤

particular [p?'tikjul?] a.特別的，特殊的

troublesome ['tr?bls?m] a.麻煩的

boatman ['b?utm?n] n.船夫

實(shí)用句型

Don't you see that each time he falls down; he stands up again instead of crying?

難道你沒(méi)看到他每次倒下后是重新站起來(lái)，而不是哭泣嗎?

...he fell down, but at once the boy stood up.

……男孩都被擊倒在地上，但男孩又馬上站起來(lái)。

智慧點(diǎn)津

Real courage is rather than facing the failure of challenge but to stand up after falling.

真正的勇氣不在于敢于面對(duì)挑戰(zhàn)的失敗，而是在于跌倒后再站起來(lái)。

When we are too stingy, instead of saving a small sum of money, we may lose more in the long run.

當(dāng)我們斤斤計(jì)較時(shí)，為了省下一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)錢，反而會(huì)吃大虧。