英语名篇诵读 蝴蝶的翅膀

Butterfly's Wings

蝴蝶的翅膀

One day a small opening appeared on a cocoon¹, a man sat and watched for the butterfly for

several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop

making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no further. So

the man decided² to help the butterfly, he took a pair of scissors and snipped³ off the remaining

bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

But it had a swollen⁴ body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the

butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able

to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened!In fact, the butterfly spent

the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to

fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and

the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing

fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it

achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through

our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could

have been.

I asked for strength

And God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom

And God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for courage

And God gave me danger to overcome.

I asked for love

And God gave me troubled people to help.

I received nothing I wanted.

I received everything I needed.

一天，茧壳上出现了一个小小的开口，有个男人坐着看蝴蝶羽化过程，看了好几个小

时，这期间，蝴蝶挣扎着迫使自己的身体从小开口钻出来。过一会儿，蝴蝶似乎停止了任

何挣扎，好像已精疲力竭，钻不出来了。因此，那男人决定帮那个蝴蝶一把，就拿了一把

剪刀，剪去蛹壳剩下的一点点粘连。这样，蝴蝶很容易就出来了。

但是，这只蝴蝶身体肿胀，翅膀又小又皱巴巴的。那男人继续观察这只蝴蝶，因为他

指望翅膀随时都会扩大，膨胀到能够支撑整个身体，而整个身体也会及时缩小。但两种情

况都没有发生！事实上，这只蝴蝶在余下的生命里，一直在用肿胀的身体爬行，拖着皱巴

巴的翅膀。它根本飞不起来。那男人出于好心匆忙行事，却不理解，蝴蝶从小小的裂口中

钻出来，必须突破茧壳的限制，奋力挣扎，这正是上帝的安排，让蝴蝶将体内的水分挤到

翅膀里，这样，它一离开茧壳便能够飞翔。

有时候，奋力抗争正是我们生活中所需要的东西。如果上帝让我们不遇到任何困难就

度过此生，那就会使我们残废，我们不可能变得足够强大。

我要力量，

上帝给我困难使我强大。

我要智慧，

上帝给我难题去解决。

我要勇气，

上帝给我危险去征服。

我要爱心，

上帝给我危难者去相帮。

我要的东西都没有收到，

我收到的东西全都派上用场。

1 cocoon   

n.茧

参考例句：

• A cocoon is a kind of silk covering made by an insect.蚕茧是由昆虫制造的一种由丝组成的外包层。
• The beautiful butterfly emerged from the cocoon.美丽的蝴蝶自茧中出现。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 snipped   

v.剪( snip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He snipped off the corner of the packet. 他将包的一角剪了下来。 来自辞典例句
• The police officer snipped the tape and untied the hostage. 警方把胶带剪断，松绑了人质。 来自互联网

4 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。