英语美文：当风吹起的时候

　　Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded¹ the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking² havoc³ on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants⁴ for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

　　Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him.

　　"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

　　Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

　　Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore⁵. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

　　The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

　　Enraged⁶ by the response, the farmer was tempted⁷ to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement⁸, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins⁹. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters¹⁰ were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.

　　The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

　　MORAL: When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically¹¹, you have nothing to fear.

　　Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.

　　几年前，一个农场主在大西洋沿岸拥有一块土地，他经常贴广告雇佣人手。可是，很多人都不愿意在大西洋岸边的农场干活，他们害怕大西洋上空剧烈的风暴会破坏房屋和庄稼。所以当这个农场主招工面试时，收到的是一连串坚定的拒绝。

　　最后，有一个个头不高、略显瘦弱、已过中年的男人来到农场主面前。“你是个干农活的好手吗？”农场主问他。

　　“是的，起风的时候我可以睡觉，”那个矮个男人回答道。

　　尽管农场主对他的回答有点迷惑，可苦于没有帮手，于是雇佣了他。那个矮个男人在农场干活很卖力，从天亮一直忙到天黑，因此农场主对他的工作很满意。

　　一天晚上，海面上刮起了咆哮的大风，农场主从床上跳了起来，抓起灯笼就向旁边雇工住的地方冲去。他晃着那个矮个男人喊道：“起来！刮风暴了！快把东西系好，别刮跑了！”

　　那个矮个男人在床上翻了一下身，平静地说道：“不，先生，我告诉过你，刮风的时候我可以睡觉。”

　　农场主被他的回答激怒了，气得真想当场把他解雇。不过，还是赶紧跑出去应付暴风雨吧。然而，令他惊奇的是，他发现所有的干草垛已经盖好了防水油布，牛在牲口棚里面，小鸡在鸡笼里，门闩好了，百叶窗也关紧了，一切都栓牢了，什么东西都刮不走了。

　　此刻，农场主才明白了雇工那句话的意思，于是，风刮起来的时候，他也回自己的床上睡觉了。

　　寓意：当精神上、心理上和物质上都做好准备的时候，一切就无所畏惧了。

　　当你的生活刮起风波的时候，你是否能睡着觉呢？故事中那个雇来的帮手能睡着，因为他已经为农场做好了抵御风暴的准备。

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