一棵橡树

The Oak tree
One hot day, two hikers are walking in the dry, brown hills. They have been walking all day, and they are tired and hungry. They see a tree in the distance. I am so hungry, says one hiker. “Do you think that's an apple tree? I want a big crunchy, red apple.” “Nah, that's not an apple tree,” says the other. “It's a pear tree. Pears are my favorite. I want to sweet, juicy, yellow pear!” But when they arrive at the tree, there are no apples, or pears either. In fact, there is no fruit at all. “Aw, boo!” says one hiker. “It's a useless oak tree.” Just then, the sky turns grey, and it starts to rain. The two hikers run under the tree to stay dry. It rains and rains, but the oak tree is like a big umbrella. The hikers don't get wet. They wait under the oak tree for the rain to stop. Day turns into night. “I’m cold.” says one hiker. We should make a fire. Help me collect some wood.” luckily, there are many old branches under the oak tree. The two hikers collect the branches and make a nice campfire out of them. They sit beside the fire to warm themselves. “I am tired,” says one hiker. “We should sleep here tonight. Help me make a bed!” The hikers make a bed out of soft, green oak leaves. They snuggle into the leaves and fall asleep. The rain falls and the wind blows, but the hiker are comfortable, warm and dry -- under the “useless” oak tree. Moral: Sometimes the best gifts aren't what we originally hoped for.

一个炎热日子，两名徒步旅行者在干燥的棕色山丘上行走。他们已经走了一整天，又累又饿。他们看到远处有一棵树。“我好饿，”一个人说。“你觉得那是一棵苹果树吗？我想吃一个又大又脆的红苹果。”“不，那不是苹果树，”另一位说。“那是棵梨树。我最喜欢吃梨了。我想吃一个甜脆多汁的大黄梨！”然而，当他们来到树下时，发现既没有苹果，也没有梨。事实上，树上根本就没有果实。“啊，真糟糕！”一个人说。“这是一棵没用的橡树。”就在这时，天空变得灰蒙蒙的，开始下雨了。两名徒步旅行者跑到树下避雨。雨一直下个不停，但橡树就像一把大伞。徒步旅行者们没有被淋湿。他们在橡树下等雨停。白天变成了夜晚。“我好冷。”一名徒步旅行者说。“我们应该生火取暖。咱们一起找些木柴吧。”幸运的是，在橡树下有很多枯枝。两名徒步旅行者用收集到的树枝生起了一堆漂亮的篝火。他们坐在火边取暖。“我累了，”一位徒步旅行者说。“我们今晚应该就在这里过夜。咱们一起铺个床吧！”他们用柔软的绿色橡树叶铺了一张床。他们蜷缩在叶子上睡着了。雨一直下，风一直吹，但他们却感觉很舒适、温暖和干爽 —— 在这棵“无用”的橡树下。

寓意：有时候，最好的礼物并不是我们最初期待的那样。