解放军文职招聘考试Don't judge a life by one difficult season

   There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer, and the youngest son in the fall. 

   从前有一个人，他有四个儿子。他希望儿子们能学会不急于对事物下结论，于是依次派四个儿子出去，让他们去远方看一棵梨树。就这样，大儿子冬天前往，二儿子春天启程，三儿子夏天出发，而小儿子则是在秋天动身的。 

   人生如树，也有春、夏、秋、冬四季之分。树之四季皆有不同，更何况人之四季呢？所以凡事不要急于定论。 

   When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no — it was covered with green buds and full of promise1). The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with2) blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, and it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe3) and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment. 

   等儿子们都去过回来之后，这位父亲把他们叫到一起，让他们描述各自的所见。大儿子说梨树很难看，被压得很弯，枝干扭曲。二儿子却说并非如此——梨树绿芽初发，生机勃勃。三儿子不同意他们的看法，他说那颗梨树花苞满树、芬芳扑鼻、赏心悦目，是他见过的最美丽的事物。小儿子的意见跟他们都不一样，他说那棵树果实累累，成熟在望，充满了生机和收获。 

   The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree's life. He told them that they cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are — and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life — can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. 

   If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. 

   这位父亲说他们答得都对，因为他们都只看到了梨树生命中的一个季节。他告诉他们：不应仅凭一个季节来判断一棵树，一段时间来看一个人；最后，到所有的季节都已终结时，才能衡量一个人的本质——以及他生命中的快乐、喜悦和爱。 

   如果你在寒冬时放弃，你将失去春之希望，夏之灿烂，秋之收获。所以，不要让一时的痛苦毁弃你所有其他的快乐。