■母亲们的智慧
The Wisdom of Mothers

STORY 1＜＜＜How Did Human Race Appear

A little girl asked her mother, “How did the human race appear?”

The mother answered, “God made Adam and Eve[10] and they had children, and so was all mankind made.”

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered, “Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved[11].”

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, “Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?”

The mother answered, “Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his.”

经典谚语

Experience is the father of wisdom and memory the mother.

经验是智慧之父，记忆是智慧之母。

故事1＜＜＜人类是怎样诞生的

一个小女孩问她的母亲：“人类是怎样诞生的呢？”

她妈妈回答道：“上帝创造了亚当和夏娃，然后他们有了自己的孩子，人类就是这样来的。”

过了两天，小女孩又问了她爸爸同样的问题。她爸爸则回答道：“人类是在很多年以前从猴子进化而来的。”

小女孩被弄糊涂了，于是又问她妈妈：“妈妈，为什么你告诉我人类是上帝创造的，而爸爸却说人类是从猴子进化来的？”

妈妈说：“亲爱的，非常简单。我告诉你的是，妈妈家的人是怎样诞生的；而爸爸告诉你的是，他们家的人是怎么来的。”

STORY 2＜＜＜Pirate’s Treasure

“Ten steps from the porch[12] and twenty steps from the rose bushes,”growled[13]Bluebeard in Jimmy’s dream one night.“My treasure will be there! Aawrgh.”

So the next day Jimmy began to dig. He dug until the hole was deep and the dirt pile[14] was high.

He kept digging. The hole got deeper and the dirt pile got higher.

He dug until the hole was deepest and the dirt pile was at its highest. He sighed, “I’m too tired. I can’t dig anymore.” Then he spied[15] something ... but it was only one of Woofy’s bones. They buried it here. Instead of treasure, all Jimmy had were a dog bone, a hole, and a big pile of dirt to fill it in with. He thought, “That pirate lied to me!”

But when Jimmy’s mother saw what he had done, she clasped her hands and smiled a smile from here to Sunday.“Oh, thank you, Jimmy. I always wanted a rhododendron[16] bush planted just there. Here’s $5.00 for digging that hole.”

STORY 3＜＜＜My Son

The mothers of four priests got together and were discussing their sons.“My son is a Monsignor[17],” said the first proud woman.“When he enters a room, people say, ‘Hello, Monsignor.’”

The second mother went on, “My son is a bishop[18]. When he enters a room, people say, ‘Hello, Your Excellency.’”

故事2＜＜＜海盗的财宝

一天晚上，吉米在梦里听到蓝胡子海盗对他咆哮：“就在离门廊10步、离玫瑰花丛20步的地方，我的财宝就埋在那里！哇啊啊。”

于是，第二天一早，吉米就开始挖起来。他挖了一个深深的坑，挖出来的土堆得高高的。

他继续挖啊挖，洞越来越深，土也越堆越高。

他挖了半天，挖出来的土都快堆不下了，于是他叹了口气道：“我太累了，实在是挖不动了。”然而，就在这时，他发现了什么东西，仔细瞧瞧……原来只是他们家以前养的狗的几根骨头。那只狗的名字叫乌菲，他们把它葬在了这里。根本没有宝藏，吉米忙活了半天只收获几根狗骨头、一个大洞，还有一大堆土。他心想：“这海盗骗了我！”

然而，当吉米的妈妈看到他的杰作时，却微笑着鼓了鼓掌，说道：“噢，谢谢你，吉米。我早就想在这里种点杜鹃花了。来，这儿有5美元，给你当作帮我挖土的奖励吧。”

故事3＜＜＜我的儿子

四位神职人员的母亲正聚在一起讨论她们的儿子。第一位母亲自豪地说道：“我的儿子是一位高级教士，当他进房间时，人们都会说‘您好，阁下。’”

第二位母亲继续说道：“我的儿子是位主教。当他走进房间时，人

“My son is a cardinal[19].” continued the next one.“When he enters a room, people say, ‘Hello, Your Eminence.’”

The fourth mother thought for a moment.“My son is six-foot-tall and weighs 300 pounds,” she said.“When he enters a room, people say, ‘Oh, My God!’”

们都会说‘您好，大人。’”

接下来，第三位母亲说：“我的儿子是红衣主教，他要是走进房间，人们都会说‘您好，主教大人。’”

第四位母亲想了一下，说道：“我儿子有6英尺高、300磅重，只要他一进房间，人们都会说‘噢，我的上帝！’”