提要

出身不高的小甲蟲，遭遇無法抗拒的逆境時不驚慌失措，凡事往好處著眼， 樂天知命、知福惜福，值得人類學習。

In a field far away lived a dung beetle. All day it remained immersed in cow dung, lazing around. His favourite pastime was to make balls of cow dung and play with them. "Surely, this is heaven," he would think to himself every day.

One day, as he lay there, as usual, a bee came buzzing around. "Hello there, Mr. Beetle!" The beetle responded excitedly and said, "Look, we are both insects! We could be best friends!"

The frowning bee was not happy with that suggestion. "We cannot be friends! You lie in that foul-smelling dung all day! And I live in the king's garden!" continued the bee, "I am surrounded by lovely fragrances and enchanting flowers! How can you ever be my equal?" The dung beetle pleaded with him. "Is it not the duty of great personalities like you to think and act for the impoverished ones like me? Where would we helpless souls be without your help?"

The bee was moved by this argument. "You are right, beetle comes with me, and I'll show you wonderful things!" The beetle climbed onto the bee's back and flew to the king's garden.

The two became friends and flew over the pretty garden. The beetle was enchanted by the sights he saw. "It's the most beautiful garden I have ever seen!" After a while, the bee got tired and flew to the pond. He set the beetle down on a lotus. "Rest here awhile, my friend, and I'll be back soon." he said, flying away.

The beetle soon fell asleep, lulled by the fragrant lotus petals. But, the bee did not return on time, and soon night fell. The petals of the lotus closed around the beetle while he slept, trapping him.

The next morning before the petals of the flower could open; a priest came to the pond and plucked the lotus.

He carried the lotus to the temple and placed it on an idol of God. The beetle was still locked within the lotus. The flower remained on the idol the whole day. The next day, the priest removed the flower and threw it into the holy Ganges River.

The lotus floated in the river for a while, and when the sun's rays touched it, it finally opened its petals. And there was the dung beetle, safe and sound!

When he looked around, he saw his friend, bee, buzzing nearby. The bee was overjoyed to see the dung beetle. "I've been looking for you for three days! Where have you been?"

Replied the beetle, "Thanks to you, I've had the marvelous time! First, I was enjoying life on the lotus I rested on. It felt like heaven! And then, I was offered to God along with the lotus. And finally, I had the good fortune to bathe in the holy Ganges River! It is true, my friend, blessed are we lowly mortals when we have great friends like you!"

解說

在遙遠的一處田野裡，住著一隻糞金龜。牠整天泡在牛糞堆中，懶洋洋地閒混。牠最喜歡的消遣，是製作牛糞丸子，並把它們當作球一般玩耍。「毫無疑問的，這裡是天堂。」牠每天都這麼想。

有一天，糞金龜像往常一樣躺著無所事事，一隻蜜蜂嗡嗡地飛過。 「你好，甲蟲先生！」糞金龜興奮地說：「看，我們兩個都是甲蟲，我們可以成為最好的朋友！」

皺著眉的蜜蜂不滿意這提議：「我們不能成為朋友，你一整天都在那個臭烘烘的糞堆，我住在國王的花園裡……」蜜蜂繼續說：「我被討喜的芬芳、迷人的花朵包圍著，怎麼能一樣呢？」糞金龜懇求牠：「提升像我這樣卑微的窮傢伙，不正是像你這樣偉大人物的責任嗎？沒有你的幫助，我們無助的靈魂該何去何從？」

這番說辭感動了蜜蜂：「你說得對，甲蟲跟我來，我會讓你見識美好的事物！」糞金龜爬到蜜蜂的背上，飛向國王的花園。

兩個朋友飛過美麗的花園，糞金龜陶醉在眼前的景色：「這是我見過的最美麗的花園！」過了一會兒，蜜蜂累了，飛到池塘。 牠把糞金龜放在一朵蓮花上：「在這裡休息一下，我的朋友，我很快就會回來。」牠說完飛走了。

被芬芳的蓮花瓣環抱，覺得心平氣和的糞金龜迅速地睡著。但是，蜜蜂沒有很快就會回來，夜幕降臨，蓮花的花瓣在糞金龜睡覺時合攏，困住了牠。

第二天早上，在花瓣打開之前，一位僧人到池塘，摘下這朵蓮花。

僧人把蓮花帶到聖殿，把它放在神像上。糞金龜仍然被包裹在蓮花裡。這朵花放在神像上一整天。第二天，祭司把花扔進了恒河。

蓮花在河裡漂浮了一陣子，當太陽光照到它時，花瓣終於打開了。安然無恙的糞金龜，重見天日。

牠環顧四周時，看到牠的朋友蜜蜂正在附近嗡嗡地飛來飛去。看到了糞金龜，欣喜若狂的蜜蜂問牠：「我找了你三天了，你去哪兒了？」

糞金龜回答說：「多虧你，我有一段奇妙的時光！」「首先，我在蓮花裡享受人生，感覺就像天堂；然後，我和蓮花一起奉獻給神。最後，我有幸在神聖的恒河沐浴！當有像你這樣的好朋友時，像我這種傢伙是有福的。」