提 要
得不到錢財不該憂慮，該擔心的是得到財富後不能好好地使用；另外，在孩子小的時候，就應該讓他學會吃苦耐勞、培養適應變化的能力。總是衣食富裕、被嬌慣的孩子，當然唯利是圖。
A long time ago, there lived a farmer named Henry in a distant land. He lived by the earnings from a small farm he owned in the village. Despite being hard-working, he was very poor.
On a hot and sunny day afternoon, he felt very tired while working on the field and decided to rest under the shade of a tree. As he lay down, he saw a cobra emerging with its hood up. He thought that this cobra might be the deity of the farm. Therefore, he offered milk to the cobra in a pot, with a hope that the deity will be happy and bless him with fortune. He also apologized and said, "Oh, Lord of the farm, I didn't know you lived here. I was neglectful of you all this time, please forgive me! And please bless me."
The next day Henry returned to work on his farm. He was overjoyed to see a shiny gold coin placed in the pot. He immediately thanked the cobra and went to the market to sell the gold coin for food and supplies.
After that, Henry offered milk to cobra every day, and he would always find a gold coin placed in the pot the next morning. This routine went for years and Henry became a wealthy merchant, with a beautiful wife and son.
One day, he went to a far-off city to negotiate some trade contracts. He asked his son to offer milk to the cobra every day, and don't forget to collect the gold coin the next morning.
His son could not believe his ears when he heard about the gold coin story. He decided to witness it for himself. The next day, he offered milk to the cobra, and he was almost too anxious to wait, but he did find a gold coin in the pot the next morning.
The son became greedy and he thought, "What If I kill the cobra and get all gold coins at once."
The next day, he waited for the cobra with a stick. As soon as the magic snake came out, he struck on its head. The unharmed cobra attacked the son in return.
The greedy boy lost his right arm and legs due to the poison and need to lay on the bed for the rest of his life. When Henry returned and came to know about the incident, he was heart-broken. But he didn't blame the cobra.
The next morning Henry went to his farm with a pot of milk, the cobra was waiting for him with its hood raised. He told Henry "Oh you shameless man, you have no respect for yourself. You are so greedy that you overlook the tragedy of your spoiled son."
Henry replied, "No, It's not like that, I came because I wanted to see you."
"You wanted something from me, so you fed me. We are not friends anymore. Please don't show up and try to feed me," said the furious cobra.
Henry had learned his lesson severely from being selfish and neglecting moral values. He never saw the cobra again.
解 說
很久以前，在偏遠的村裡，住著一個農夫名叫亨利，他靠自己小農場的收入為生，儘管辛勤工作，還是很窮。
一個晴朗的下午，他在田間工作時非常疲倦，決定在樹蔭下休息。準備躺下時，他看到豎起頭冠、蓄勢攻擊的眼鏡蛇。他認為這是守護農場的神靈。因此，他用陶罐盛了牛奶供奉眼鏡蛇，希望取悅「神靈」得到祝福。他還道歉：「哦，農場之主，我不知道你住在這裡。我一直都忽略了你，請原諒我，請祝福我。」
第二天，亨利回到農場工作。看到陶罐裡放著一枚閃亮的金幣，他喜出望外地向眼鏡蛇道謝，立即去市場出售金幣、採購食品以及日用品。
之後，亨利每天都會盛牛奶獻給眼鏡蛇，而且隔天早晨，他總是會在罐裡找到一枚金幣。這持續了多年，亨利成了一個富有的商人，還有漂亮的妻兒。
有一天，他要去遙遠的城市談生意。他要求兒子每天為眼鏡蛇提供牛奶，也別忘了第二天早晨收集金幣。
他的兒子不敢相信自己聽到的金幣故事是真的，他決定親自見識牛奶換金幣的過程。第二天早上，他果然在罐中找到了一枚金幣。
兒子忽起貪念，他想：「我何不宰了眼鏡蛇，立刻就能得到所有金幣。」
第二天，他拿著棍子等眼鏡蛇，有魔力的蛇一出現，他就攻擊牠的頭……，毫髮未傷的眼鏡蛇「禮尚往來」反擊兒子。
這貪婪的男孩因中毒而失去了右臂和雙腿，終生都必須臥床。當亨利回家得知這事件時，非常傷心，但是他不怪眼鏡蛇。
隔天早上，亨利帶著一罐牛奶去農場，眼鏡蛇正豎起頭冠等著他。牠對亨利說：「哦，你這個無恥的人，你不尊重自己、太貪心，以至於寵壞了兒子、釀成這悲劇。」
亨利回答：「不，不是那樣的，我來是因為我想見你。」
憤怒的眼鏡蛇說：「你想從我這裡獲利，所以才餵飽我；我們不再是朋友了，請不要再露面或嘗試給我牛奶。」
忽視道德價值觀、唯利是圖的亨利，得到了慘痛教訓，從此他再也沒有見過眼鏡蛇。
對話
New Spectacle
Maria: I have trouble reading the sign.
Alice: Get closer.
Maria: It's pretty close already.
Alice: Put on your spectacle.
Maria: I don't have one.
Alice: Go see an eye doctor.
Maria: That's what I need to do.
Alice: The doctor will give you a prescription for glasses.
Maria: I'll make an appointment right now.
（The next day）
Maria: I got a pair of glasses now.
Alice: Great, now you can see the world.
（電話中）
瑪麗亞：我看不清楚招牌標誌。
愛麗絲：靠近一點。
瑪麗亞：已經走很近了。
愛麗絲：戴上妳的眼鏡。
瑪麗亞：我沒有眼鏡。
愛麗絲：那去看眼科。
瑪麗亞：那正是我該做的事。
愛麗絲：醫師會給你處方配眼鏡。
瑪麗亞：我現在就預約。
（第二天）
瑪麗亞：我現在有一副眼鏡啦。
愛麗絲：太好了，現在妳可以清楚地看世界了。
WOW!
原來如此
routine
「routine 」是「日常慣例」 ，例如：
Her routine work is to clean the bookshelf and reorganize books.（她的日常工作，是清理書架、整理書籍。）
During the outbreak disease period, those players had to change their daily routine and lifestyle.（在疫病爆發期間，這些球員不得不改變日常生活方式。）
After the holiday vacation, you will need to have a routine bilingual test.（放假結束後，你將需要進行例行的雙語測試。）
far-off
「far-off 」是（一眼望不到的）遙遠 ，例如：
Our story takes place in a far-off land, long, long ago.（我們的故事，發生在很久以前的遙遠地方。）
Villagers weave scarves that are sold in far-off countries.（村民們編織的圍巾，銷往遙遠的國度。）
They tried to imagine how to live in such a quiet and lonely life in the far-off place.（他們試圖想像，如何在遙遠的地方度過如此安靜孤獨的生活。）
anxious
「anxious」是「焦急 」 ，例如：
Parents are naturally anxious about their children's safety.（擔心孩子的安全，是父母的天性。）
We had a very anxious time until we knew that they came home.（經歷了非常焦急 的等待，直到知道他們回家我們才放心。）
Desperate tiredness set in after hours of anxious waiting.（經過好幾小時的焦慮等待後，開始產生絕望的倦怠感。）