真正的寧靜來自于何方？一位17世紀的法國思想家曾說過：“如果我們在內心找不到寧靜，到別處去找也是徒勞的。”下面的這則小寓言或許能帶給我們一些啟發……

By Kareem Potts

那零 選注

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. “Because,” explained the King, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”

Vocabulary

1. perfect: 完美的，無暇的；towering: 高聳的，屹立的。

2. overhead: 在頭頂上的，上面的；fluffy: 松軟的，輕軟的。

3. rugged: 崎嶇的，凹凸不平的；bare: 光禿的，無遮蓋的。

4. angry: （風浪等）狂暴的；lightening: 閃電。

5. tumble: 墜落；foaming: 起泡沫的，覆有泡沫的；waterfall: 瀑布。

6. bush: 灌木；crack: 裂縫，縫隙。

7. in the midst of: 在……之中；rush: 急速流動（或行進）。

（來源：英語學習雜志 編輯：丹妮）