The Oak and the Reed
Once upon a time, there lived a huge oak tree. The oak tree was proud that it was the biggest and strongest in the world. “Despite any hardships, I can survive till the end. There is nothing as powerful as me.”
从前，树林里有一棵巨大的橡树。橡树觉得自己是世界上体型最大最强壮的树，因此非常骄傲。“不管是什么困难，我都能安然度过。没人比我更强大。”
One day, a severe windstorm began. Watching the other trees fall down one by one, the oak tree was triumphant. “I'll be fine.”
一天，突然来了一场风暴。看着其他的树一棵一棵地倒下，橡树油然生出一种胜利感。“我就没事。”
However, the oak tree collapsed when the windstorm was blowing. Flowing on the water, the oak tree thought, 'How did I end up like this?'
然而，最后橡树还是被暴风吹倒了。橡树随水漂流着，心想：“我怎么就这样结束了此生？”
As it was swept away by the river, the oak tree passed a field of reeds. The reeds were standing there without being broken. “Oh, Mr. Reed! How did you survive the rainstorm with your fragile body?” The oak tree envied the reeds.
当被河水冲走时，橡树路过了一片芦苇丛。那里的芦苇并没有被吹倒。“哦，芦苇先生！你这么脆弱，是如何安然度过的？橡树很羡慕芦苇。
One of the reeds kindly said to the oak tree flowing down, “Mr. Oak Tree, you showed that you were the strongest in the world, right? The wind brings down anything with an air of importance.”
芦苇亲切地说：“橡树先生，你自夸是世界上最强壮的人，对吗？暴风会把任何趾高气昂的人打到的。”
“We never think highly of ourselves, but lower our heads when we come across a windstorm. If you had lowered your head without being so proud, you would have survived the rainstorm.”
“我们从来不会自以为是，当暴风来袭时，我们会谦卑地低下头。如果当时你低下头，你会在暴雨中存活下来的。”
