和平之剑

“十年磨一剑，霜刃未曾试”，作为一把宝剑，哪个不愿决战沙场，大展雄风？但是，有一把宝剑却不喜欢这样的宿命。相反，它帮人类化干戈为玉帛，换来了来之不易的和平。

Once upon a time there was a precious sword and it belonged to a great king. One day a great dispute broke out between this king and the king of a neighboring country. It ended with both declaring war.

The sword was greatly excited at the prospect of taking part in its first real battle. It would show everyone how truly brave and special it was， and would become renowned throughout the kingdom. On the way to the front line， the sword imagined itself the winner of many battles. However， when they arrived， the first battle had already taken place， and the sword got to see the results of war. What the sword saw had nothing in common with what it had imagined. No elegant shining knights， triumphant1， with their weapons gleaming in the sunlight. Instead， everything was covered in dirt and shrouded2 in a disgusting smell. Many were half dead and scattered on the ground， bleeding from multiple wounds ...

At this， the sword realized it liked neither wars nor battles. It decided it preferred to live in peace. So， on the night before what was going to be the big final battle， the sword started to vibrate3. First it gave out a low buzz， but this gradually got louder， until it became an annoying metallic noise. The swords and armor4 of the other soldiers asked the kings sword what it was doing. It told them， “I dont want there to be a battle tomorrow. I dont like war.”

One answered， “No one likes it， but what can we do？”

“Make yourself vibrate， just like Im doing，” said the kings sword.

So the weapons started vibrating. The noise was so loud that it reached the enemy camp， and the weapons there， who were equally sick of the war， joined the protest.

The next morning， when the battle should have begun， not a single soldier was ready to fight. No one had managed to get even a wink of sleep， not even the kings or the generals. So they spent the whole day catching up on5 sleep. During the evening they started to wake up， and decided to put off the battle for the next day. However， the weapons， led by the kings sword， spent the night repeating their peace song， and again no soldier could rest. The battle had to be postponed yet again， and this carried on for the next seven days.

On the evening of the seventh day， the kings of the two armiesmet to see what they could do about the situation. Both were furious from their previous dispute， but after being together for a while they started to discuss their sleepless nights， the surprise on their soldiers faces， the confusion of day with night， and the amusing situations all this had created. It wasnt long before both were laughing， like friends， at these little stories.

Fortunately， they forgot their old dispute and put an end to the war， each returning to their own land with the double joy of not having had to fight， and having regained a friend. And from then on， from time to time the kings would meet up to talk about their experiences as kings. They now understood that the things which united them were much more numerous than anything that set them apart from each other.

很久以前，有一把珍贵的宝剑，它属于一位伟大的国王。有一天，这位国王和邻国的国王之间发生了很大的冲突，最后双方都决定宣战。

宝剑感到无比兴奋，因为它有望参与其人生中第一次真正的战役。它要向所有人展示自己有多么勇敢和独特，它要让自己享誉全国。在去往前线的路上，宝剑一直幻想着自己在许多战役中获得了胜利。然而，当它和国王抵达战场时，第一场战役已经结束了，宝剑只能看到战后的情形。映入眼帘的场景与它之前想象的完全不同，这里没有举止优雅、穿着明亮盔甲的骑士，他们没有欢欣鼓舞，手中的兵器也没有在阳光下闪闪发光。相反，这里的一切都被尘土遮盖，四处弥漫着一股令人作呕的气味。很多人都奄奄一息地倒在战场各处，遍体鳞伤、鲜血淋漓……

目睹此景，宝剑意识到自己一点都不喜欢战争，也不喜欢战斗。它下定决心，宁愿过平静的生活。因此，在大决战前夕，宝剑开始振动起来。最初它只是发出低低的嗡鸣声，但这声音逐渐变大，直至最后变成了恼人的金属噪音。其他士兵的刀剑和盔甲都问国王的宝剑它在做什么。宝剑告诉它们：“我不想让他们明天打仗，我不喜欢战争。”

一件兵器回答说：“没有人喜欢战争，但是我们又能怎么办呢？”

“你们也振动起来，就像我现在这样。”国王的宝剑说。

就这样，所有的兵器都开始振动。噪音响彻云霄，都传到了敌营，那里的兵器也同样讨厌战争，于是也加入了抗议的行列。

第二天一早，大决战本该打响，可却没有一个士兵做好了战斗的准备。所有人整夜都没能合眼睡上哪怕一小会儿，即便是两位国王和双方的将军们也不例外。于是，他们整个白天都在补觉，到了晚上才睡醒，于是决定把战斗推迟到第二天。然而，在那位国王的宝剑的带领之下，所有的兵器一整夜又在重复它们的和平之歌，士兵们再一次无法入眠，决战也不得不再次推迟。这种状况又持续了整整七天。

到了第七天的晚上，双方的国王会面商讨该如何处理这一局面。双方都还因之前的冲突而怒气冲冲，但相处了一会儿之后，他们就谈论起了那些无法入眠的夜晚、士兵们的惊诧神情、那日夜颠倒的混乱以及这一切造成的可笑场面。没过多久，两位国王就像朋友一样因为这些小故事哈哈大笑起来。

幸运的是，他们都忘记了之前的冲突，双方宣告停战，回到了各自的国家，享受着不必打仗和朋友失而复得的双重喜悦。从那以后，两位国王还会时不时地见见面，聊聊当国王的经历。他们现在明白，让他们能和睦相处的事情远远要比那些使他们决裂的事情多。