Shake it off and step up
《井中老骡》抖掉泥土，迈步向上

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying'—or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer felt sorry for the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving. Instead, he called his neighbours together and told them what had happened and asked them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
这是一则关于一位农夫和他的老骡子的寓言。骡子掉进了农夫家的井里。农夫听到了骡子的叫声，或者骡子掉进水井时发出的挣扎声。在仔细评估情况后，农夫对骡子的遭遇感到很遗憾，但还是决定骡子和井都不值得挽救。他随后把邻居们召集到一起，告诉他们发生了什么事情，并请求他们帮忙拉些泥土来，把这头老骡子埋在井里，将它从痛苦中解救出来。
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbours continued shovelling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back: he should shake it off and step up!
最初，老骡子变得情绪非常激动！但是当农夫和他的邻居们继续将泥土铲到它的背上时，它的脑子里产生了一个念头。它恍然大悟，每当一铲泥土落到它背上时，它都应该抖掉泥土，迈步向上！
This is what the old mule did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up... shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself.
老骡子就是这样做的，对抗着不断砸在它背上的一铲又一铲的泥土。“抖掉泥土，迈步向上...... 抖掉泥土，迈步向上...... 抖掉泥土，迈步向上！”它反复地鼓励着自己。
No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!
无论泥土砸在它背上时有多么疼痛，无论情况看上去有多么窘迫，老骡子都与“恐慌”斗争着，坚持着抖掉泥土，迈步向上。
You guessed it! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually end up blessing him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
你猜对了！不久后，那个老骡子变得狼狈不堪，但最终成功地跨越井壁走了出来！看起来好像要埋葬它的做法，实际上最终使它获救。之所以会有这样的结果都是因为它处理逆境的方式。

How rich are we?
《乡下旅行 》父子谈论富与穷

One day a father and his rich family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "Very good Dad!" "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Yeah!" "And what did you learn?"
一天，来自一个富裕家庭的一位父亲带着全家及他的儿子，来到乡下旅行，想要以此向他的儿子展示穷人能有多么贫穷。他们在一个非常贫困的家庭农场里住了一天一夜。旅行结束后，父亲问他的儿子：“这次旅行怎么样？”“很好啊，爸爸！”“你看到穷人有多穷了吗？”父亲问。“看到了！”“那你都了解到了什么？”
The son answered: "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon."
儿子回答说：“我了解到，我们家有一条狗，他们家有四条；我们家的水池延伸到花园中央，他们家的小溪没有尽头；我们家的花园装了进口照明灯，他们家可以看到满天的星星；我们家的露台可以看到前院，他们家可以看到整个地平线。”
When the little boy was finished, his father was speechless. His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how 'poor' we are!"
这个小男孩的回答结束时，他的父亲已无言以对。小男孩补充说：“谢谢您，爸爸，谢谢您让我看到我们家有多么‘穷'！”
Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humour and a positive attitude towards life—you've got everything! You can't buy any of these things. You may have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc.; but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!
难道这一切不是都取决于我们看待事物的方式吗？如果你有爱、朋友、家人、健康、愉快的心情和对生活的积极态度，你已经拥有了一切。这些是你无法用金钱买到的。你可能会拥有你可以想象的所有物质财富，未来衣食无忧；但是，如果你精神贫穷，你其实一无所有。

The blind man and the lamp

《盲人的灯》眼睛可以看不见，但是心要亮着

Once upon a time, there was a small town. There lived a man by himself who couldn't see. He was blind. Yet, he carried a lighted lamp with him whenever he went out at night.
从前，有一个小镇中独居着一个盲人。虽然他眼睛看不见东西，但每当晚上出门时，他都会挑着一盏点燃的灯。
One night as he was coming home after having a dinner outside, he came across a group of young travellers. They saw that he was blind, yet carrying a lighted lamp. They started passing comments on him and made a fun of him. One of them asked him, "Hey Man! You are blind and can't see anything! Why do you carry the lamp then?!"
一天晚上，在外面吃完晚饭回家的路上，他遇到了一群年轻的旅客。他们看到他是盲人，还挑着一盏点燃的灯，就开始对他品头论足，并取笑他。其中一个人问他：“嘿！你是个盲人，什么也看不见！可你为什么要挑着灯？！”
The blind man replied, "Yes, unfortunately, I am blind and I can't see anything but the lighted lamp that I am carrying is for the people like you who can see. You may not see a blind man coming and end up pushing me. That is why I carry a lighted lamp". The group of travellers felt ashamed and apologized for their behaviour.
盲人回答说：“是的，很不幸，我是个盲人，什么也看不见，但是我挑着的点燃的灯是为了你们这样能看到的人准备的。你们可能看不见一个盲人走过来，弄不好会撞到我身上。这就是我挑着点燃的灯的原因。”这群旅客听后，为自己的行为感到羞愧和抱歉。
Moral: We should think before judging others. Always be polite and learn to see things from others' point of view.
寓意：在评判他人之前，我们应该三思而行。要时刻保持礼貌，学会从别人的角度看待事物。