双语阅读｜Pot of the Wit 三思而后行 为棘手问题找到解决办法

Once Emperor Akbar became very angry at his favorite minister Birbal. He asked Birbal to leave the kingdom and go away. Accepting the command of the Emperor, Birbal left the kingdom and started working on a farmer’s farm in an unknown village far away under a different identity.

有一次，阿克巴国王迁怒于他最爱的大臣比尔巴尔。他要求比尔巴尔远离王国。于是比尔巴尔受命离开了，并以别的身份在一个陌生村庄的农场里工作。

As months passed, Akbar started to miss Birbal. He was struggling to solve many issues in the empire without Birbal’s advice. He regretted a decision, asking Birbal to leave the empire in anger. So Akbar sent his soldiers to find Birbal, but they failed to find him.

几个月过去了，阿克巴开始想念比尔巴尔。在得不到比尔巴尔的建议的情况下，他一直艰难地解决着王国中的许多问题。他对自己当初要求比尔巴尔愤怒离开的决定感到十分遗憾。因此，阿克巴派士兵去找比尔巴尔，但却未果。

No one knew where Birbal was. Akbar finally found a trick. He sent a message to the head of every village to send a pot full of the wit to the Emperor. If the pot full of wit can not be sent, fill the pot with diamonds and jewels.

没人知道比尔巴尔在哪里。最后阿克巴想到一招。他向每个村庄的头儿发出消息，让他们给国王上交一个装满智慧的罐子。否则，就上交装满钻石和珠宝的罐子。

This message also reached Birbal, who lived in one of the villages. The people of the village got together. All started talking about what to do now? The wit is not a thing, which can be filled in the pot.

居住在其中一个村庄的比尔巴尔也得知了消息。村民们聚在一起谈论现在该怎么办？智慧可不是能装进锅罐子里的东西啊。

How will we arrange for diamonds and jewels to fill the pot and send it to the Emperor? Birbal who was sitting among the villagers said, “Give me the pot, I will fill the wit in one month’s end”. Everyone trusted Birbal and agreed to give him a chance. They still didn’t know his identity.

那我们又如何能把装满钻石和珠宝的罐子交给国王呢？坐在村民中间的比尔巴尔说：“把罐子给我吧，一个月后我会填满智慧”。每个人都相信了比尔巴尔，并同意给他这个机会。但他们却不知道他的身份。

Birbal took the pot with him and went back to the farm. He had planted watermelons on his farm. He selected a small watermelon and without cutting it from the plant, he put that in the pot. He started looking after it by providing water and fertilizer regularly. Within a few days, the watermelon grew into a pot so much that it was impossible to get it out of the pot.

比尔巴尔携带罐子回到农场。他在自己的农场里种下西瓜。他选择了一个小西瓜，没有从藤上切下，直接将瓜放入了罐中。他开始定期提供水和肥料来照料它。几天之后，西瓜长成了罐子的形状，以至于无法将它从罐中取出。

Soon, the watermelon reached the same size as the pot from inside. Birbal then cut the watermelon from the vine and separated it with the pot. Later, he sent the pot to Emperor Akbar with a message that “Please remove the wit without cutting it from the pot and without breaking the pot”.

很快，西瓜就从里面长成和罐子一样大了。随后比尔巴尔从藤上切下西瓜，瓜就留在了罐中。后来，他向阿克巴国王送了这个罐子，上面写着：“请从罐中取出智慧吧，但不要切罐子，也别打碎它”。

Akbar watched the watermelon in the pot and realized that this can only be Birbal’s Work. Akbar himself came to the village, took Birbal back with him.

阿克巴看着罐子里的西瓜，意识到这只能是比尔巴尔的杰作。于是阿克巴亲自来到村庄，把比尔巴尔接了回去。

Moral: Don’t hasten the decision. Think hard to find a solution for the strangest situations.

寓意：不要急着做出决定。努力思考，为最奇特情况找到解决方案。

有时候我们确实需要三思后行，不论站在国王的角度还是大臣的角度，冲动不会解决问题。