父亲和儿子们

58FATHER AND SONS父亲和儿子A certain man had several Sons who were always quarrelling with oneanother, and, try as he might, he could not get them to live together inharmony. So he determined to convince them of their folly by the followingmeans. Bidding them fetch a bundle of sticks, he invited each in turn to breakit across his knee. All tried and all failed: and then he undid the bundle, andhanded them the sticks one by one, when they had no difficulty at all inbreaking them. "There, my boys," said he, "united you will be more than amatch for your enemies: but if you quarrel and separate, your weakness willput you at the mercy of those who attack you."Union is strength.｛中文阅读｝有一个人生养了几个儿子，可是儿子们之间总爱争吵不休，父亲无论做什么，都无法使儿子们和睦相处。于是，他决定用下面的方法来说服儿子们。他让儿子们取来一捆木棒，大家轮流试 着用膝盖折断它们。几个儿子分别试了一下，可是都失败了。接着，他拆开那捆木棒，一根一根地交给儿子们，这时，他们便毫不费力地折断了木棒。“看吧，我的孩子，”他说，“你们若能齐心协力，便可与敌人抗衡。但是，如果你们之间不团结且各自为营，那么这个弱点就会使你们任由敌人摆布了。”团结就是力量。