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，有两只小鸟，它们跟它们的小孩一起住在一个农场旁边。每天早晚，它们会出去找食物回来给它们小孩吃。有一次，当它们带食物回去的时候，那些小鸟小孩很激动地跟它们说：「哎呀！爸爸、妈妈，完了、完了！」它们两个就很惊讶地问：「有什么事？赶快跟我们讲。」

    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.

    那些小鸟小孩说：「听说明天农场主人会去找他们的亲戚朋友来帮他们收割，那我们就没东西吃了。」那两只小鸟父母说：「别担心，不会怎么样，他们亲戚朋友一定不会来帮忙他们的。」那些小鸟小孩就感到很奇怪，不过父母讲的话一定有它们的道理存在，因为它们很老了，经验丰富，一定会知道。所以它们就安心了，吃得很高兴。几天以后，果然农场主人的亲戚朋友都没有来帮忙收割。

    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.

    过了几天，有一次当小鸟父母带食物回来时，它们的小孩又说：「哎呀！完了、完了！听说明天那个农夫会叫他所有的小孩回来帮他们收割，那我们就没东西吃了，麻烦大了！」那对小鸟父母笑嘻嘻地说：「不会、不会！你们安心，他们的小孩一定不会回来帮忙他们的，你们不要怕。」小鸟小孩听了很高兴，上次它们的父母讲对了，这次一定也对，大家就很高兴地吃晚餐。果然如是，没有一个小孩来帮他们收割。

    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."

    又过了好几天，有一次小鸟父母从外面带晚餐回来给它们的小孩吃的时候，那些小鸟小孩又说：「哎呀！麻烦了！危险了！听说农场主人夫妇决定明天要自己收割了，他们不靠外人，不请求任何人帮忙了。」那个时候那对小鸟父母好懊恼地说：「这次真的是完了！」那些小鸟小孩说：「奇怪！怎么这样子呢？前两次我们说他们会请亲戚朋友来、请他们的小孩来帮忙收割，你们都很高兴，说不会有事；这一次我们说他们要靠自己，自己去收割，你们为什么那么震撼呢？」然后小鸟父母说：「你们有所不知，他们如果靠自己的话，他们真正的会去做。靠别人当然不可靠，现在他们决定要靠自己的话，他们一定会做得成功，所以我们以后没东西吃了，我们最好要搬走了，搬到别的农场去。」