张祖平

Once there was a king who received a gift of two falcons. They were the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer2 to be trained.

Months passed， and one day the head falconer told the king that though one of the falcons was flying high in the sky， the other bird had not moved from its branch3 since the day it had arrived.

The king called all kinds of able men from all the country together， but no one could make the bird fly.

He presented the task to his courtiers4， but the next day， the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its branch.

Having tried everything else， the king thought to himself， “Maybe I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem.” So he ordered to his courtiers to get a farmer.

In the morning， the king was surprised to see the falcon flying high above the palace gardens. He said to his courtiers， “Bring me the man of this miracle5.”

The courtiers quickly found the farmer， who came and stood before the king. The king asked him， “How did you make the falcon fly？”

With his head bowed， the farmer said to the king， “It was very easy， your highness6. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”

How many times we are all made to fly—to realize our potential7 as human beings. But at times we are used to the familiar， the comfortable， and the common. So for the most part， our lives are common. Let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling8 to and free ourselves to the glory of flight！

曾经有一个国王，他收到了一件礼物——两只猎鹰。它们是国王看过的最美丽的鸟。国王让他的首席驯鹰师训练这两只鸟。

几个月过去了，一天，首席驯鹰师告诉国王：一只猎鹰在翱翔天空，然而另一只鹰从它到来之日起一直站在枝头寸步不离。

国王召集了各方能人异士来寻找对策，但是没有人能让它飞起来。

国王把这个任务布置给了他的大臣，但是第二天，国王透过宫殿的窗户，看到那只猎鹰仍旧没有离开它栖息的枝头。

试过各种方法之后，国王暗自思忖，“或许我需要一个更熟悉乡村的人来了解问题的本质。”于是，国王命他的大臣们去找一个农民。

一大早，国王惊讶地发现：那只猎鹰翱翔在宫殿花园的上空。他对大臣们说：“把创造这个奇迹的人带来见我。”

大臣们很快找到了农民，农民来到了国王面前。国王问农民：“你是如何让它飞起来的？”

农民低着头对国王说：“国王殿下，这很简单，我只是把猎鹰栖息的树枝砍掉了。”

多少次，我们都是被迫起飞——去认识我们作为人类所拥有的潜能。但是有时候，我们习惯了熟悉、舒适和平凡。因此，我们大部分人的生活只是普通而平凡。让我们学会摧毁依赖已久的“恐惧之枝”，自由自在地享受飞行的荣耀！

1. falcon [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼falcon.jpg>] n. 猎鹰 2. falconer [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼falconer.jpg>] n. 养鹰者，放鹰者

3. branch [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼branch.jpg>] n. 树枝 4. courtier [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼courtier.jpg>] n. 侍臣，廷臣 5. miracle [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼miracle.jpg>] n. 奇迹 6. highness [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼highness.jpg>] n. 殿下，阁下 7. potential [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼potential.jpg>] n. 潜能；潜力 8. cling [<＼＼Huxi＼刘郸＼2015年＼2015年湖南版＼10期＼八年级＼cling.jpg>] v. 抓紧或抱住endprint