Long, long ago, two birds and their fledglings lived near a farm. Every morning and evening, the parents would go out to find food for their little ones. One day, when they brought the food home, the baby birds said to them frantically, "Pa! Mom! This is the end of us!" Startled, the parent birds asked, "What happened? Tell us quickly."

    好久以前，有兩只小鳥，它們跟它們的小孩一起住在一個農場旁邊。每天早晚，它們會出去找食物回來給它們小孩吃。有一次，當它們帶食物回去的時候，那些小鳥小孩很激動地跟它們說：「哎呀！爸爸、媽媽，完了、完了！」它們兩個就很驚訝地問：「有什么事？趕快跟我們講。」

    The baby birds said, "We heard that the owner of the farm has asked his relatives and friends to come and help harvest the crops tomorrow. We will have nothing left to eat." Their parents comforted them, saying, "Don't worry about it. No matter what, his relatives and friends will definitely not come." The baby birds were confused, but they believed there must be some truth to their parents' words, because they were older, more experienced, and must know everything. Reassured, the baby birds ate heartily. Several days went by, and true enough, none of the farmer's relatives and friends came to help with the harvest.

    那些小鳥小孩說：「聽說明天農場主人會去找他們的親戚朋友來幫他們收割，那我們就沒東西吃了。」那兩只小鳥父母說：「別擔心，不會怎么樣，他們親戚朋友一定不會來幫忙他們的。」那些小鳥小孩就感到很奇怪，不過父母講的話一定有它們的道理存在，因為它們很老了，經驗豐富，一定會知道。所以它們就安心了，吃得很高興。幾天以后，果然農場主人的親戚朋友都沒有來幫忙收割。

    Then, a few more days later, when the parent birds came back with food, their little ones told them again, "This is the end! We heard that the farmer has asked all his children to come home tomorrow to help reap the crops. We will have no more food. We are in serious trouble!" Their parents laughed and reassured them, "No! It won't happen! Don't worry. Their children will definitely not come to help them. Don't be afraid." The baby birds were happy to hear that. Their parents had made the correct prediction last time, so they must be right again this time. The family enjoyed their dinner joyously, and truly, as predicted, none of the children came to help the farmer harvest his crops.

    過了幾天，有一次當小鳥父母帶食物回來時，它們的小孩又說：「哎呀！完了、完了！聽說明天那個農夫會叫他所有的小孩回來幫他們收割，那我們就沒東西吃了，麻煩大了！」那對小鳥父母笑嘻嘻地說：「不會、不會！你們安心，他們的小孩一定不會回來幫忙他們的，你們不要怕。」小鳥小孩聽了很高興，上次它們的父母講對了，這次一定也對，大家就很高興地吃晚餐。果然如是，沒有一個小孩來幫他們收割。

    Again, several days went by, and when the parent birds returned to the nest with dinner for their babies, the little ones again told them, "We are in trouble! We are in danger! We heard that the farmer and his wife have decided to harvest the crops by themselves tomorrow. They are not going to rely on others or ask for help." This time, the parents were really worried and said, "This is indeed the end!" The little ones asked, "This is strange! Why is that? The last two times we told you that they were going to get help from their relatives, friends, and children, you were delighted and said that nothing would happen. Why are you so shocked this time that they are going to reap the harvest by themselves and not rely on others?" The parents explained to them, "You don't understand. If they really rely on themselves, they will definitely do it. You cannot depend on others. Now that they have decided to be self-reliant, they will definitely do it. We will have no more food. We had better move to another farm."

    又過了好幾天，有一次小鳥父母從外面帶晚餐回來給它們的小孩吃的時候，那些小鳥小孩又說：「哎呀！麻煩了！危險了！聽說農場主人夫婦決定明天要自己收割了，他們不靠外人，不請求任何人幫忙了。」那個時候那對小鳥父母好懊惱地說：「這次真的是完了！」那些小鳥小孩說：「奇怪！怎么這樣子呢？前兩次我們說他們會請親戚朋友來、請他們的小孩來幫忙收割，你們都很高興，說不會有事；這一次我們說他們要靠自己，自己去收割，你們為什么那么震撼呢？」然后小鳥父母說：「你們有所不知，他們如果靠自己的話，他們真正的會去做。靠別人當然不可靠，現在他們決定要靠自己的話，他們一定會做得成功，所以我們以后沒東西吃了，我們最好要搬走了，搬到別的農場去。」