那些給我智慧和勇氣的寓言故事25：老鷹和蜜蜂

　　——平凡的工作也是值得尊敬的

　　Seeing how a Bee was busying itself about a flower, an Eagle said to it, with disdain: "How I pity thee, poor thing, with all thy toil and skill!

　　老鷹看到一只蜜蜂正忙著采蜜，就不無輕蔑地對他說：“我真同情你，可憐的小東西，盡管你是如此辛勞，如此靈巧!

　　All through the summer, thousands of thy fellows are moulding honeycomb in the hive.

　　整個夏天，你成千上萬的同類們都在蜂房里建造蜂巢。

　　But who will afterwards separate and distinguish the results of thy labour? I must confess, I do not understand what pleasure thou can take in it.

　　但是，日后誰會去分辨一下你們的勞動成果呢?坦白地說，我不明白你們能從中獲得什么樂趣。一輩子辛勞，到頭來能看到什么好處呢?

　　To labour all one's life, and to have what in view? Why, to die without having achieved distinction, exactly like all the rest.

　　唉，臨終也未能聲名顯赫，只是和其他蜜蜂一樣默默無聞。

　　What a difference there is between us! When I spread my sounding pinions, and am borne along near the clouds, I am everywhere a cause of alarm.

　　我們之間真是有天壤之別啊!當我張開呼呼作響的翅膀，沖上云霄，普天之下一片驚慌。

　　The birds do not dare to rise from the ground ;the shepherds fear to repose beside their wellfed flocks, and the swift does, having seen me, will not venture out into the plain."

　　鳥兒們不敢飛離地面;牧羊人不敢靜臥在肥壯的羊群身旁;連敏捷的母鹿看到我，也不敢走出森林踏上平原。”

　　But the Bee replies:" To thee be glory and honour! May Jupiter continue to pour on thee his bounteous gifts! I, however, born to work for the common good, do not seek to make my labour distinguished.

　　但是，蜜蜂回答道：“你榮耀輝煌吧!希望丘比特繼續(xù)把他那慷慨無盡的恩澤傾注于你!然而，我天生就是為公眾利益服務(wù)的，我不期望張揚我的勞動。

　　But, when I look at our honeycombs, I am consoled by the thought that there are in them a few drops of my own honey."

　　不過，當我看到我們的蜂巢，想到那里也有我的幾滴蜂蜜，我就覺得很是安慰了。”

　　Fortunate is he, the field of whose labour is conspicuous! He gains added strength from the knowledge that the whole world witnesses his exploits.

　　雖然，工作領(lǐng)域引人注目的人很幸運，他們知道世人目睹了自己的成就，就平添了更多的力量

　　But how deserving of respect is he who, in humble obscurity, hopes for neither fame nor honour in return for all his labour, for all his loss of rest----who is animated by this thought only, that he works for the common good!

　　但是，默默無聞的人又是那么值得尊重啊!對于自己付出的勞動和犧牲的休息，他們不謀求名望和榮譽的回報。只要想到自己是在為公眾利益服務(wù)，他們就有了力量。