One evening a tired traveler and his

friends crowded into the old fishing boat.

某个夜晚，一位疲惫的旅客和他的朋友们挤上了那条旧渔船。

The traveler fell asleep as the second

tree quietly sailed out into the lake.

当第二根树静静离岸驶向湖心时，这旅客沉沉地睡去了。

Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose.

The little tree shuddered. She knew she did

not have the strength to carry so many

passengers safely through with the wind and

the rain.

顷刻间，带着雷轰电闪，暴风雨来了。小船开始战栗。她知道在如此的风雨中，她没有力量平安地承载那么多的旅客。

The tired man awakened. He stood up,

stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace."

The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun.

那个疲倦的人醒了过来，站起身，伸出他的手说道：“住了吧，静了吧！”暴风雨顿时停了下来，有如它来临时那样迅速。

And suddenly the second tree knew he was

carrying the king of heaven and earth.

第二棵树猛然明白，他正载着天与地的君王。

One Friday morning, the third tree was

startled when her beams were yanked from

the forgotten woodpile.

一个星期五的早上，第三棵树惊讶地发现，自己被拖出被遗忘的置木堆。

She flinched as she was carried through

an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered

when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her.

当她被扛起，穿过愤怒而不停嘲讽揶揄的人群时，她瑟缩着；当兵丁们将一个人的手钉在她身上时，她在发抖。

She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.

她感到如此地丑恶、残酷和无情。

But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose

and the earth trembled with joy beneath

her, the third tree knew that God's love

had changed everything. It had made the

third tree strong.

可是到了星期天早晨，当太阳升起，大地兴奋地在她脚下颤抖时，第三棵树明白，神的爱已经改变了世间一切。这使得第三棵树刚强起来。

And every time people thought of the

third tree, they would think of God.

从此每当人们想起第三棵树的时候，他们就想到了神。

That was better than being the

tallest tree in the world.

这可比成为世间最高大的树来得更好。

The next time you feel down because you

didn't get what you want, sit tight and

be happy because God is thinking of

something better to give you.

下一回若是因为得不到你所盼望而情绪低落，请坐坐好，喜乐起来，因为神正想着赐你一份更加美好的东西。