Three Fingers Of Patience

楊慶春

每個人都希望成功，每個人都想找到打開成功大門的鑰匙，但成功的道路不是一帆風順的，有很多時候需要有足夠的耐心和意志力，不能淺嘗輒止。

Once there was a farmer with his wife and children living a happy life by earning from their own land in a village. The family planted the crops in spring， and harvested the crops in autumn. The only issue（問題） faced by the farmer was a lack of water for the fields. After discussing with his family， the farmer decided to dig a well near his land.

After managing to get all the materials prepared， he went to visit an expert to ask for advice on where he should dig one. Under the guidance， he started the project at the edge of the land with great expectation. He worked very hard to dig day and night. But his hard work was not rewarded. The whole family advised him not to lose hope. He didn’t want to disappoint anyone， especially himself， and began his project again. Another two days went by， and there was not a single drop of water coming from the well. He was completely tired， lost patience and went home thinking that everything was a waste of time. In case passers?by fell into the hole by mistake， he put a piece of wood which was the size of five fingers long near the unfinished well.

One night， a villager walked beside the well and hit his leg on that wood by mistake. This man became so annoyed that with all his frustration and anger he lifted the piece of wood， and with full energy threw the wood inside the well. The moment the man threw the wood， it went and hard hit the ground nearly three fingers deep.

Water sprang up（涌出） from the well as soon as the wood was hit down and rose to a certain level. When the farmer heard about this， he rushed to his well. Seeing water rising up from the well， he was too choked with emotion to speak. His eyes filled with tears as his hard work eventually paid off. He knew if he had a little more patience he would have succeeded earlier. He was delighted that it helped him realize one requires more patience in any task being accomplished.

跟蹤練習：

1. What problem did the farmer face？

A. His fields were not enough.

B. His fields were short of water.

C. He couldn’t get help from his wife.

D. He couldn’t make money from fields.

2. Why did the farmer put a piece of wood near the unfinished well？

A. To ask for help from passers?by.

B. To measure the depth of the well.

C. To test the water source of the well.

D. To remind passers?by of possible danger.

3. Finally， the farmer realized that _____________.

A. the villager fell into the hole

B. the expert’s guidance was wrong

C. he needed more patience

D. his family’s supports were useless