The Boy with an Empty Pot 手捧空花盆的男孩

The Boy with an Empty Pot 手捧空花盆的男孩

A long time ago, there was an old king.

很久以前，有一位年老的国王，
The king did not have any son who could become king after him.

因为他没有儿子可以继承王位，

This made the king very sad.

这使得他非常悲伤，

Then he decided to find a boy in his country worthy to be his adopted son.

所以他决定在王国里找一个值得做自己养子的小男孩。

One day, he gave some seeds to all the boys in the country.

 一天，他给全国的男孩每人一些花籽，

Then he proclaimed that whoever could grow the most beautiful flowers
from the seeds would become his adopted son and heir.

然后国王宣布，谁能种出最美丽的花儿来，谁就是未来的王子和自己的继承人。

All the boys planted their seeds carefully.
所有的小男孩都很小心地播种。

They looked after their plants well.
他们把花籽照料得很好。

One of the boys who planted the seeds was a boy named Yong Tu.

其中有一个种花籽的小男孩叫永图，

He looked after his seeds day after day.

他日复一日地照料他的种子。

However, one month passed and the seeds he had planted had not sprouted.

然而，一个月过去了，他种的种子还没有发芽。

He asked his mother,
“Why haven’t the seeds sprouted yet?”

他就问妈妈：为什么种子还不发芽呢？

“Try changing the soil in the pot,”
suggested his mother.

你试着把盆里的土换掉，妈妈建议。

Yong Tu followed his mother’s advice,
but the seed still did not sprout.

永图按妈妈的建议做了，可是种子还是没有发芽。

Not long after that, the day for selecting the adopted son arrived.

之后没多久，筛选养子的日子就来临了。

All the boys came out carrying their pots of flowering plants.

所有的男孩手里捧着一盆花。

They were each eager to become the king’s adopted son.

他们都渴望成为国王的养子。

When the king saw the boys carrying their potted plants
with beautiful flowers,

当国王看到孩子们拿着美丽的花朵的盆栽时，

he did not appear happy.

他却并不高兴。

Then he saw a boy by the side,
后他看到旁边有个男孩，

crying as he held an empty pot in his hands.
正在哭泣，因为他手里拿着一个空罐子，

The king walked towards the boy and asked,

国王走向男孩，问道，

“Why are you carrying a pot without a flowering plant?”

国王问到：“你怎么拿着一个没有花的花盆呢？”

Yong Tu answered,

永图回答：

“Every day I looked after the seeds carefully,

我每天都很细心的照顾种子，

but the seeds did not sprout at all.”

可种子还是没有发芽。

The king smiled at Yong Tu.

国王面带微笑的看着永图。

Then he held the boy’s hand happily and announced loudly,

然后他拉着这起这个小男孩的手，大声宣布到：

“This is my adopted son.”

这就是我的养子。

The other boys were surprised and they asked,

其他的孩子们都很惊讶，便问到：

“Why did Your Majesty choose as your adopted son
the boy who brought a pot without a flower?

陛下，为什么要选择一个拿着空花盆的小男孩作自己的养子呢？

Didn’t Your Majesty want a boy
who could grow the most beautiful flowers?”

你不是要选择哪个可以种花最美丽的花的小男孩吗？

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