老人和马

爷爷，我这次考试的成绩不好，运气真不好。

Grandpa, my exam grade this time is bad. My luck is really bad.

成绩不好是一件事，运气好不好，谁知道呢？我想起一个故事，是以前一个老人和马的故事，你想听吗？

A bad grade is one thing. Whether your luck is bad, who knows? That reminds me of a story, about an old man and a horse, long ago. Do you want to hear it?

想听，这个故事和我的考试有关系吗？

Yes. Does this story have anything to do with my exam?

以前有一个老人，他的马有一天走了，没有人知道去了哪儿。

Long ago there was an old man. One day his horse left, and no one knew where it went.

马走了，这是不好的事情吧？

The horse left. That's a bad thing, isn't it?

邻居们都说真不好，但是老人说，谁知道呢，这可能不是坏事。

The neighbors all said it was terrible. But the old man said, who knows, this might not be a bad thing.

马都走了，还能是好事？我不明白。

The horse is gone. How could that be a good thing? I don't understand.

别急。几天以后，那匹马自己回来了，还带回来了一匹马！

Don't be so quick. A few days later, the horse came back on its own, and it even brought back another horse!

太好了，这个是好事，对不对？

That's great. This is a good thing, right?

邻居们都说运气真好，老人还是说，谁知道呢，这可能也不是好事。

The neighbors all said his luck was wonderful. The old man still said, who knows, this might not be a good thing either.

多了一匹马，怎么会不是好事？

One more horse. How could that not be a good thing?

儿子很喜欢那匹新马，天天骑着它。有一天他从马上摔下来，腿疼得走不了路。

The son loved the new horse, and rode it every day. One day he fell off the horse, and his leg hurt so badly he couldn't walk.

这次真的不好了！腿都摔疼了，还能说是好事吗？

Now this really is bad! His leg is hurt from the fall. Can that still be called good?

邻居们都说真不好，老人还是说，谁知道呢，这可能也不是坏事。

The neighbors all said it was terrible. The old man still said, who knows, this might not be a bad thing either.

爷爷，我觉得这次老人错了。腿摔疼了走不了路，就是不好的事，没有别的可能。

Grandpa, I think the old man is wrong this time. A leg hurt so badly you can't walk, that's just a bad thing. There's no other possibility.

别急，你听完就知道了。然后国家要打仗，很多年轻人都要去，但是老人的儿子腿不好，走不了路，没有去打仗。

Don't be so quick, you'll understand once you hear the end. Then the country went to war, and many young men had to go. But the old man's son, whose leg wasn't good, couldn't walk, so he didn't go fight.

那些去打仗的年轻人呢？

What happened to the young men who went to fight?

很多都没有回来，老人的儿子没有去，还在家里。

Many of them never came back. The old man's son didn't go. He's still at home.

我明白了，因为腿摔疼了，所以他没有去打仗，也没有像别人那样不能回来。

I understand. Because his leg was hurt, he didn't go fight, and he didn't end up like the others who never came back.

对，所以你说，儿子摔疼了腿，是好事还是坏事？

Right. So tell me, the son hurting his leg, was that a good thing or a bad thing?

现在看好像是好事。但是如果没有后面打仗的事，摔疼了腿就真的是坏事了，对不对？

Looking at it now, it seems like a good thing. But if the war part hadn't happened, then hurting his leg really would have just been a bad thing, right?

你说得对。我不是说坏事最后都会变成好事，我是说事情刚开始的时候，谁都不知道以后怎么样，所以不用太早说是坏事。

You're right. I'm not saying bad things always turn into good things in the end. I'm saying that when something has just happened, no one yet knows what will happen later, so there's no need to call it a bad thing so soon.

那我这次考试不好，也可能不是坏事？

So maybe my bad exam grade this time isn't necessarily a bad thing either?

谁知道呢？可能你会因为这次不好，以后学习得更认真。事情还没结束，你怎么知道以后会怎么样？

Who knows? Maybe because of this bad grade, you'll study more carefully from now on. It isn't over yet. How do you know what will happen later?

好，我知道了，这次考试的事，现在还不知道是好是坏，可能是坏事，也可能是好事。

Okay, I understand. About this exam, right now I still don't know if it's good or bad. Maybe bad, maybe good.

你现在懂了老人的意思了。

Now you understand what the old man meant.