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The Power of Determination

The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old fashioned, pot-bellied stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived. One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive. He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to the nearby county hospital. From his bed the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heart the doctor talking to his mother. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely die – which was for the best, really – for the terrible fire had devastated the lower half of his body. But the brave boy didn’t want to die. He made up his mind that he would survive. Somehow, to the amazement of the physician, he did survive. When the mortal danger was past, he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly. The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body, it would almost be better if he had died, since he was doomed to be a lifetime cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs. Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless. Ultimately he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever. When he wasn’t in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs. Ultimately through his daily massages, his iron persistence and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk haltingly, then to walk by himself – and then – to run. He began to walk to school, then to run to school, to run for the sheer joy of running. Later in college he made the track team. Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run – this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile!

By Burt Dubin from ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’, copyright 1993 (Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen)

SIMPLIFIED CHARACTERS (A TRANSLATION)

决心的力量

那是一間鄉下的小學校，靠著一個老式的肚子鼓鼓的爐子取暖。每天有一個小男孩負責早一點到學校，先把火生起來，好讓教室在老師和同學們來之前變暖和。

有一天早上，大家到的時候，發現整間學校都著火了。他們把昏迷的小男孩從火裡拖了出來，那時他幾乎已經沒有生命跡象了。他下半身嚴重燒傷，被送到附近的縣立醫院。

在病床上，這個小男孩雖然被燒得很慘、幾乎昏迷，但他模模糊糊地聽到醫生在和他媽媽說話。醫生對他媽媽說，她的兒子一定活不下來了——其實這樣也許比較好，因為大火燒壞了他整個下半身。

但是這個勇敢的小男孩不想死。他下定決心要活下來。結果他真的活下來了，連醫生都很驚訝。等他不再有生命危險的時候，他又聽見醫生和媽媽在小聲說話。醫生說，因為他下半身的皮肉幾乎都燒光了，也許他死了還比較好，因為他這一輩子都不可能再用到自己的腿，只能當一個殘障的人。

這個小男孩又一次下定決心：他不要當一個殘障的人，他要走路。但他從腰部以下完全不能動，兩條細細的腿只是掛在那裡，幾乎一點力氣都沒有。

最後他出院了。每天他媽媽都幫他按摩腿，可是他還是沒感覺，不能動，什麼都做不到。可是他要走路的決心一樣那麼強。

除了在床上的時間，他一直坐在輪椅上。有一天，天氣很好，他媽媽推著他到院子裡透氣。那天，他不想只是坐著，他從輪椅上跳下來，一點一點地爬過草地，把兩條腿拖在後面。

他慢慢地爬到院子邊上的白色木欄杆旁邊。他非常吃力地站起來，抓住欄杆，一根一根往前移動。他告訴自己：他一定要學會走路。從那天起，他每天都這樣練習，最後在欄杆邊上拖出一條光滑的路。他心裡最想要的，就是讓自己的腿重新有生命。

靠著每天按摩、堅持不放棄的心和強烈的決心，他慢慢地能站起來，然後一點一點地學會走路，後來甚至可以自己走——然後——開始跑步。

他開始走路上學，然後跑去上學，後來為了享受奔跑的快樂而跑步。上了大學以後，他進入了田徑隊。

後來，在美國麥迪遜廣場花園，這位原本被認為活不下來、永遠不能走路、絕對不可能跑步的年輕人——這位意志堅定的年輕人，格伦·坎宁安醫生(Dr. Glenn Cunningham)，創下了世界上最快的一英里跑步紀錄！

TRADITIONAL CHARACTERS

決心的力量

那是一間鄉下的小學校，靠著一個老式的肚子鼓鼓的爐子取暖。每天有一個小男孩負責早一點到學校，先把火生起來，好讓教室在老師和同學們來之前變暖和。

有一天早上，大家到的時候，發現整間學校都著火了。他們把昏迷的小男孩從火裡拖了出來，那時他幾乎已經沒有生命跡象了。他下半身嚴重燒傷，被送到附近的縣立醫院。

在病床上，這個小男孩雖然被燒得很慘、幾乎昏迷，但他模模糊糊地聽到醫生在和他媽媽說話。醫生對他媽媽說，她的兒子一定活不下來了——其實這樣也許比較好，因為大火燒壞了他整個下半身。

但是這個勇敢的小男孩不想死。他下定決心要活下來。結果他真的活下來了，連醫生都很驚訝。等他不再有生命危險的時候，他又聽見醫生和媽媽在小聲說話。醫生說，因為他下半身的皮肉幾乎都燒光了，也許他死了還比較好，因為他這一輩子都不可能再用到自己的腿，只能當一個殘障的人。

這個小男孩又一次下定決心：他不要當一個殘障的人，他要走路。但他從腰部以下完全不能動，兩條細細的腿只是掛在那裡，幾乎一點力氣都沒有。

最後他出院了。每天他媽媽都幫他按摩腿，可是他還是沒感覺，不能動，什麼都做不到。可是他要走路的決心一樣那麼強。

除了在床上的時間，他一直坐在輪椅上。有一天，天氣很好，他媽媽推著他到院子裡透氣。那天，他不想只是坐著，他從輪椅上跳下來，一點一點地爬過草地，把兩條腿拖在後面。

他慢慢地爬到院子邊上的白色木欄杆旁邊。他非常吃力地站起來，抓住欄杆，一根一根往前移動。他告訴自己：他一定要學會走路。從那天起，他每天都這樣練習，最後在欄杆邊上拖出一條光滑的路。他心裡最想要的，就是讓自己的腿重新有生命。

靠著每天按摩、堅持不放棄的心和強烈的決心，他慢慢地能站起來，然後一點一點地學會走路，後來甚至可以自己走——然後——開始跑步。

他開始走路上學，然後跑去上學，後來為了享受奔跑的快樂而跑步。上了大學以後，他進入了田徑隊。

後來，在美國麥迪遜廣場花園，這位原本被認為活不下來、永遠不能走路、絕對不可能跑步的年輕人——這位意志堅定的年輕人，格倫·坎寧安醫生(Dr. Glenn Cunningham)，創下了世界上最快的一英里跑步紀錄！

Do you feel there is a message in this story or any wisdom that you can gain from it?
你觉得这个故事有什么意义，或能给你什么智慧吗？
你覺得這個故事有什麼意義，或能給你什麼智慧嗎？

If you need inspiration before sharing your ideas, then here are some things that may help:
如果你在分享想法之前需要一些灵感，那么以下内容或许能帮助你：
如果你在分享想法之前需要一些靈感，那麼以下內容或許能幫助你：

Two quotes
两句名言
兩句名言

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” (Dale Carnegie)
‘世界上大多数重要的事情，都是由那些在似乎毫无希望时仍然坚持努力的人完成的。’
「世界上大多數重要的事情，都是由那些在似乎毫無希望時仍然堅持努力的人完成的。」

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” (Calvin Coolidge)  

「这个世界上没有什么能取代坚持。才能不行；有才华但失败的人比比皆是。天才也不行；得不到回报的天才几乎成了一句谚语。教育也不行；这世界上充满了受过教育却一事无成的人。唯有坚持与决心是无所不能的。『坚持下去』这句口号已经解决了人类的许多问题，也将继续解决下去。」
「這個世界上沒有什麼能取代堅持。才能不行；有才華但失敗的人比比皆是。天才也不行；得不到回報的天才幾乎成了一句諺語。教育也不行；這世界上充滿了受過教育卻一事無成的人。唯有堅持與決心是無所不能的。『堅持下去』這句口號已經解決了人類的許多問題，也將繼續解決下去。」

Here’s a video of him running at Madison Square Gardens:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiWB2mR3aPA
这是一段他在麦迪逊广场花园跑步的影片。
這是一段他在麥迪遜廣場花園跑步的影片。

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(ethical & transparent AI use: This post was translated with help from chatGPT & then edited but
all text content is original and written by the authors specified)