How the emperor chosen his successor

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An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided  something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you."

    远东某国的一位皇帝年岁已高,他觉得应该给自己选一位继任人了。他没有从自己的助手或者自己的子女中去挑选继任人，而是决定采用一种不同寻常的方式去选继任人。有一天，他将整个王国的年青人召集在一起，对他们说：“现在应该是我退位并挑选我的继任人的时候了。我决定从你们之中挑选一位作为我的继任人。”

The kids were shocked but the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

    听皇帝这么说，这些孩子都很吃惊。皇帝继续说道：“今天，我要发给你们每一位一粒种子--一粒特殊的种子。我要你们种下这粒种子，给它浇水，一年后的今天再带着你们播种这粒种子后得到的东西到这里来。我将根据你们带来的植株的情况作出评判，那时我挑选的人将成为新的皇帝。”

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and  watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

   那天，一位叫Ling的男孩也在这里，他跟其它孩子一样，也得到了一粒种子。回家后,他兴奋地告诉了妈妈皇帝所说的话。母亲给他找了一个盆和播种所需的土壤，于是，他在盆里种下了这粒种子，并小心地浇了水。他每天都给种子浇水，并观察种子是否长出了芽。三周以后，其它一些年青人都在谈论着他们的种子和正在生长的植株。

Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

    Ling不断地检查自己的种子，但是，他发现盆里什么也没长。日子就这么一天一天地过去了，3周、4周、5周，他的种子仍然什么也没长。现在，其它人都在谈论着他们种植的植株，而只有Ling什么也没有，他觉得自己非常地失败！6个月过去了，Ling的盆里仍然什么都没有。他认为是自己将种子弄死了。

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.

    其它人的种子都长出了树苗或者是高大的植株，唯有Ling的没有。Ling没有向他的朋友说起这些，他只有继续等待自己的种子生长。

A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. "Be honest about what happened" his mother said. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths.

They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try."

    一年终于过去了，王国里所有的年青人都将他们种植的植物带到王宫请皇帝检阅，Ling给母亲说他不会带着空着的花盆去见皇帝，母亲给他说：“要诚实地告诉皇上事实的经过。”Ling觉得自己的肚子很难受，但他知道母亲说的是对的。他将空花盆端到了皇宫。当Ling端着空花盆到皇宫的时候，看见其它年青人种植的各种植物，他感到非常惊奇。他们种植的植物都很漂亮，大小和形态也千差万别。Ling将空花盆放在地上，很多人都在嘲笑他，少数几个人为他感觉惋惜，只是说：“哎，这是很好的尝试！”

When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "What great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. " Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"

    皇帝到来时，他巡视了整个房间，向每位年青人致以问候。Ling设法躲在后面。皇帝说：“你们都种出了了不起的树木和花草！今天，你们中的一位将会被任命为下一届皇帝！”突然，皇帝发现了在房间后面端着空花盆的Ling。他命令侍卫将Ling带到前面。Ling非常害怕，心想：“皇帝肯定是晓得我失败了，说不定会杀掉我！”

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"

    当Ling被带到前面时，皇帝问他叫什么名字。Ling回答说：“我的名字叫Ling。”所有的孩子大笑并取笑他。皇帝要大家安静一下。他看着Ling，然后向大家宣布：“看呀，这是你们的新国王！他的名字叫Ling！”Ling 简直不敢相信自己的耳朵，他连种子都没有种出来，怎么可能当皇帝呢！皇帝说道：“一年前的今天，我给在坐的每位一粒种子。我告诉你们将种子带回家，让它播种，并给它浇水，然后在今天将种出的东西带到这儿来。但是，我给你们的是一粒根本就不能生长的煮熟了的种子。现在，除了Ling以外，所有的人都给我带了漂亮的树苗和花草。你们用其它种子替换了我给你们的种子。只有Ling勇敢而又诚实地将播了我给的种子的空盆钵端来了。因此，他将成为新一任皇帝。”

-- If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.

如果你种植诚实，你将收获信任。

-- If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

如果你种植友善，你将收获朋友。
-- If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

如果你种植谦卑，你将收获伟大。
-- If you plant perseverance, you will reap victory.

如果你种植坚韧，你将收获胜利。
--  If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.

如果你种植体谅，你将收获和谐。
-- If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

如果你种植辛劳，你将收获成功。
--  If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

如果你种植谅解，你将收获和解。
--  If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.

如果你种植开放，你将收获亲密。
--  If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.

如果你种植耐心，你将收获改进。
--  If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.

如果你种植信念，你将收获奇迹。
But  但是

--  If you plant dishonesty, you will reap distrust.

如果你种植不诚实，你将收获失信。
--  If you plant selfishness, you will reap loneliness.

如果你种植自私，你将收获孤独。
--  If you plant pride, you will reap destruction.

如果你种下傲慢，你将收获毁灭。
--  If you plant envy, you will reap trouble.

如果你种植嫉妒，你将收获麻烦。
-- If you plant laziness, you will reap stagnation

如果你种植懒惰，你将收获停滞。
--  If you plant bitterness, you will reap isolation.

如果你种植苦难，你将收获孤立。
-- If you plant greed, you will reap loss.

如果你种植贪婪，你将收获损失。
--  If you plant gossip, you will reap enemies.

如果你种植闲言，你将收获敌人。
--  If you plant worries, you will reap wrinkles.

如果你种下烦恼，你将收获皱纹。
--  If you plant sin, you will reap guilt.

如果你种植罪恶，你将收获罪过。

So be careful what you plant now, It will determine what you will reap tomorrow, The seeds you now scatter will make life worse or better, your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday, you will enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today.

因此，要小心你现在所种下的一切，它将决定你明天的收成。你现在撒播的种子，将会决定你的明天是更好还是更糟，它还会决定你的人生甚至你的后代的人生。是啊，将来的某一天你会享受到你种下的果实，或者为你今天所播种时的选择付出代价！