英语专业八级汉译英第20期:成为圣者的秘诀

【英文】

Once upon a time there lived in a country a do-gooder. The king was very appreciative of his deeds and decided to honour him as a saint by a decree.

On the saint's eightieth birthday, the king was invited to his birthday celerbration. He brought with him a painter so as to do a picture of the kindly saint as a paragon for his countrymen.

When the feast is over all the guests were asked to have a look at the picture. To their great surprise, when the picture was shown, what they saw was not a kind but a ruthless and cruel look. The king was very angry at seeing this and ordered his men to beat the painter.

Upon hearing the noise, the saint rushed to the scene to have a look at the picture. After viewing it, the saint knelt down and said, "your majesty, the person in the picture is none other than me." Why?" said the king, dumbfounded. "This has been the very person whom I have never wanted to be."

In this world, there are no naturally born saints; only those who can do self-criticism and sel-examination, can become saints.