提要

可以輕易獲得大量資訊的現代，懂得思考變得格外重要，思考可以過濾資訊，可以消化知識，思考更可以自我反省。

Think Before You Boast

A man came back from a trip and boasted about his adventurous journeys. He bragged a lot to different people, about his amazing feats that got him fame and praise from people everywhere when He went to the Rhode Island where he had leaped to such distances that no man could ever match.

He even said that there were witnesses who would vouch for his words. Hearing the man boast so much, a smart bystander said, "Oh good fella, we do not need any witnesses to believe your words." "Imagine this place to be the Rhode Island and leap for us."

The lying traveler didn't know what to do and went away quietly; anyone does a thing well really does not need to boast. -Aesop's Fables

Think Before You Trick Others

A farmer looking for a source of water for his farm, so he bought a well from his neighbor. But the cunning neighbor refused to let the farmer take water from it, "I sold the well to you, not the water", and walked away. The distraught farmer didn't know what to do. So he went to Barney, a clever man and one of the nine courtiers of the emperor, for a solution.

The emperor called the farmer and his neighbor and asked them about the well. The cunning man repeats his rubbish nonsense, "I sold the well, not the water. So he cannot take my water".

To this, Barney replied, "All that sounds fine to me. But if you have sold well and the water is yours, then you have no business keeping your water in his well. Remove the water or use it all up immediately. If not the water will belong to the owner of the well".

Realizing that he's been tricked and learned his lesson, the cunning man apologized and left quietly.

The Camel Baby's Fair Question

One day, a camel was chatting with her baby. The baby asked, "Why do we have humps?" The mother replied, "Our humps are for storing water so that we can survive in the desert".

"Oh", said the little one, "And why do we have rounded feet?" "Because they are meant to help us walk comfortably in the desert. These legs help us move around in the sand."

"Alright. But why are our eyelashes for so long?" "To protect our eyes from the desert dust and sand. They are the protective covers for the eyes", replied the mother camel.

The baby camel thought for a while and said, "So we have humps to store water for desert journeys, rounded feet to keep us comfortable when we walk in the desert sand, and long eyelashes to protect us from sand and dust during a desert storm. Then what are we doing in a zoo?"

The mother was dumbfounded. That's right, one's strengths, skills, and knowledge are useless if one was not in the right place.

解說

吹牛之前要三思

一個旅行返鄉的男子，逢人便吹噓自己的冒險旅程：「我到羅德島時，飛躍了無人可比的距離。」他還說，這項壯舉為他贏得了來自世界各地人們的讚譽。

他甚至說，有人可以證明他所言非虛。有個聰明的旁觀者，聽到他如此浮誇，對他說：「哦，好傢伙，我們不需要任何證人就願意相信你的話了。」「想像一下這 裡就是羅德島，為我們一躍而過吧。」

吹破牛皮的男子不知道該怎麼辦，就安靜地走了；任何做得很好的人，其實不需要自誇。 ── 伊索寓言

騙人之前想清楚

一位農民想為自己的農場找水源，於是他從鄰居那裡買了一口井。 但是狡猾的鄰居卻拒絕讓農民從中取水，他說：「我把井賣給你，而不是賣水給你。」然後走開了。 心煩意亂的的農民不知道該怎麼辦。 因此，他找聰明的人巴尼求助，他是皇帝的九位朝臣之一。

皇帝把農夫和他的鄰居叫來，問他們關於井事，那狡猾的鄰居重複他的鬼扯：「我把井賣給他，而不是賣水，所以他不能拿我的水。」

聽到這裡 ，巴尼回答說：「我覺得你說的一切都很對，但是，如果你賣井並且不包括水，那就不該將水留在別人的井裡。請將水取走或者立即用完，否則水將屬於井的擁有者。」

這狡猾的人發現中了自己圈套，也學了教訓，道了歉之後，悄悄地離開了。

駱駝寶寶大哉問

有一天，一隻駱駝和牠的幼兒閒聊，駱駝寶寶問：「為什麼我們有駝峰？」母親回答：「駝峰是為了存水，讓我們能在沙漠中生存。」

小傢伙說：「哦，為什麼我們要有圓圓的腳呢？」「因為可以幫助我們在沙漠中舒適地行走。」

「好，那為什麼我們的睫毛那麼長？」「保護我們的眼睛免受沙漠塵土的侵害。它們是眼睛的保護套。」駱駝媽媽回答。

小駱駝思考了一會兒說：「所以，我們的駝峰是為了沙漠旅行儲水，圓腳使我們在沙漠中行走時保持舒適，還有長長的睫毛保護我們免受沙漠風暴的侵害……那我們在動物園做什麼？」

母親愣住了。 沒錯，如果不在正確的位置，一個人的優勢、技能和知識是無用武之地的。