勇敢的“懦夫”
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Sometimes， patience can be much more useful than action， even if it means you require the bravery to accept people treating you like a coward. （有时，耐心比行动更加有效，尽管这意味着你需要勇气去接受别人把你当成懦夫。）
When young Nerino was made chief of the tribe， everyone expected that—as was the custom on the island—he would direct his attention to fighting the great fiery1）-eyed beast， a horrible creature that had terrorized the tribespeople for centuries. Nerino had promised to kill the beast and， though he was a good fighter， he seemed no better than the others who had previously perished2） in the attempt. The tribe believed that， as chief， he wouldn't last much more than a year. This was about the amount of time needed to train and prepare a band of warriors， prior to going up to the volcano's summit， where their frightening enemy lived. And once they got there， no matter how strong or brave they were， all the warriors would be destroyed completely within a couple of hours.
However， nothing was done. Nerino didn't train any fighters. Nothing out of the ordinary was done， and no new attack tactics3） were devised4）. When summer came—the time the monster attacked most frequently， engulfing5） all in flames from his fiery eye—all the tribe did was move their village.
Everyone looked worryingly at Nerino. They demanded that he fight， that he do something， that he should be brave and fulfill the destiny of a chief. But Nerino simply said， "I shall defeat the beast， but now is not the time." And so the years passed by， and Nerino became an old man. Though they respected him as their chief， and his strategy of moving their village around the island had saved many lives， all the people believed he was a coward.
Yet， just when no one expected it， Nerino finally assembled a squad6） of fighters on a cold winter night. Snow was rare on the island， but now it blanketed the ground， and the warriors had to march out barefoot with frozen feet. They hurriedly went up the volcano and at the summit they approached the monster's cave. Nerino confidently entered， while his companions performed the usual death preparation rituals ...
When they were all inside the cave， they saw old Nerino standing over the beast. The monster was lying， curled up， on the ground， trembling and groaning， close to death. Nerino and his warriors easily took the creature prisoner.
On their arriving back at the village， everyone wanted to hear about Nerino's fight with the monster. Not even the tiniest baby was absent when Nerino began telling his story.
"I never intended to fight against something so terrifying， and nor did I do so today，" he said， filling all with surprise and expectation. He continued， "Did none of you notice that the beast would never attack during the worst days of winter？ Or that， after an especially cold spell， his fire was never very strong， nor his attacks very damaging？ For many years I was waiting for a snow as heavy as this one. All along， we didn't need fighters； we needed the cold. When we got to the volcano， the monster was so weak that he couldn't fight. Finally we have put an end to fighting and death. Now we have the beast， and his fiery eye， at our service."
Everyone congratulated the chief for his wisdom， particularly those who had most criticized him for supposed cowardice7）.
当年轻的内里诺被推举为部落酋长时，部落里的每个人都期望他专心去打败那只眼睛能喷火的大怪兽，这也是他们这个岛上的一贯习俗。那只可怕的怪兽数百年来一直令这个部落的人生活在恐惧之中。内里诺也承诺过要杀死这只怪兽，不过，虽然他是一个优秀的战士，但似乎也和之前死在怪兽手里的其他战士差不太多。部落里的人都认为，他当酋长的时间不会超过一年。而那差不多正是他们去那个可怕的敌人所在的火山顶之前训练和组织好一队勇士所需的时间。所有的勇士不管多强壮或是多勇敢，只要到了那儿，用不了几个小时就全都会命丧黄泉。
然而，内里诺什么都没做。他没有训练任何战士，没有做任何不寻常的事情，也没有制定任何新的进攻战术。夏天是怪兽来袭最频繁的季节，它眼中喷出的火焰能吞噬一切。当夏天来临时，整个部落所做的唯一一件事情就是把他们的村庄迁往别处。
部落里的每个人都忧心忡忡地看着内里诺，要求他跟怪兽作战，采取一些行动，勇敢地完成酋长注定的使命。但内里诺只是说：“我一定会打败怪兽的，但现在时机未到。”就这样，很多年过去了，内里诺也老了。尽管他作为酋长，部落里的人都非常尊敬他，而且他让整个村庄环岛迁移的策略也救了许多人的性命，但大家还是认为他是一个懦夫。
然而，就在谁也不再抱有期望的时候，内里诺终于在一个寒冷的冬夜集结了一队勇士。这座岛上很少降雪，但现在一场大雪却覆盖了大地，勇士们只能赤着冻僵的脚出发。他们匆匆登上了那座火山，爬上了山顶，来到了那个怪兽的洞穴前。内里诺自信从容地走了进去，而与他同来的勇士们却在洞外举行例行的迎接死亡的仪式……
勇士们都进入洞穴后，发现老内里诺正踩在那只怪兽身上。那只怪兽蜷缩着躺在地上，颤抖着，着，奄奄一息。内里诺和他的勇士们轻而易举地就抓住了它。
他们一回到村庄，部落里的所有人就想听听内里诺与怪兽搏斗的情形。内里诺开始讲述的时候，连最小的婴儿都没有缺席。
“我从没打算要跟这么可怕的怪兽搏斗，今天也同样没有跟它搏斗。”他说。他的话让大家惊诧不已，又让大家充满了期待。他接着说道：“难道你们就没有一个人注意到，这只怪兽从来不在冬季最冷的时候来袭吗？或者说，在一段特别寒冷的日子之后，它的火焰就没有那么猛烈，它的攻击也没有那么致命了吗？我等了这么多年，就为了能遇到像这次这样的一场大雪。自始至终，我们需要的都不是勇士，而是寒冷。当我们到达火山顶时，那只怪兽已经非常虚弱了，根本无力战斗。我们终于结束了与怪兽的斗争和死亡。现在，我们可以让这只怪兽和它喷火的眼睛为我们效劳了。”
部落里的每个人都称赞酋长的智慧，尤其是之前误认为他怯懦而狠狠批评过他的那些人。
1. fiery [?fa??ri] adj. 火焰的，含火的
2. perish [?per??] vi. 丧生；毁灭
3. tactics [?t?kt?ks] n. 战术行动
4. devise [d??va?z] vt. 设计；发明；想出
5. engulf [?n?ɡ?lf] vt. 吞没，淹没
6. squad [skw?d] n. 小队
7. cowardice [?ka??d?s] n. 胆小，怯懦