2.2 Do not listen to prairie chicken 不要听信山鸡的话

A boy found an eagle’s egg and he put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The eagle hatched and thought he was a chicken. He grew up doing what prairie chickens do — scratching at the dirt for food and flying short distances with a noisy fluttering① of wings.

　　It was a dreary¹ life. Gradually the eagle grew older and bitter②. One day he and his prairie chicken friend saw a beautiful bird soaring③ on the currents of air, high above the mountains.

　　“Oh, I wish I could fly like that!” said the eagle.

　　The chicken replied, “Don’t give it another thought. That’s the mighty² eagle, the king of all birds — you could never be like him!” And the eagle didn’t give it another thought.

　　He went on cackling④ and complaining about life. He died thinking he was a prairie chicken. My friends, you too were born an eagle. The Creator intended you to be an eagle, so don’t listen to prairie chickens!

　　① flutter v. 拍打

　　② bitter a. 痛苦的

　　③ soar v. 高飞，翱翔

　　④ cackle v. 咯咯叫

　　一枚老鹰蛋被一个小男孩发现了，它被放进了一只山鸡的窝里。鹰被孵出来了，但他以为自己是一只山鸡。他长大了，做着山鸡所做的事——从泥土里翻找食物，做短距离的飞行，翅膀还“啪啪”作响。

　　生活非常沉闷。渐渐地鹰长大了，他也越来越苦恼。有一天，他和他的山鸡朋友看见一只美丽的鸟在天空翱翔，飞得比山还要高。

　　“噢，我要能飞那么高该多好啊!”鹰说。

　　山鸡回答说：“不要想了，那是凶猛无比的鹰，鸟中之王——你不可能像他一样!”于是鹰放弃了那个念头。

　　他继续咯咯地叫，不停地抱怨生活。最后他死了，依然认为自己是一只山鸡。朋友们，你也同样，你天生就是只雄鹰。造物主有意把你造就成一只雄鹰，所以不要听信山鸡的话！

　　反思：你天生就是一只翱翔于天空的雄鹰，所以不要听信山鸡的话。

1 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

2 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。