The Mayor and the Young Boy

A very long time ago, there was a mean and corrupt mayor. But his secretary was a kind man who hated injustice. The mayor always felt nervous when his secretary was around. His secretary was so kind and fair that the mayor could not do what he planned. The mayor liked to be mean, but the secretary always asked him to change his decisions.

很久以前，有一位卑鄙腐败的市长。但他的秘书是个善良的人，他痛恨不公正。 当市长的秘书在身边时，市长总是感到紧张。他的秘书是如此善良和公正，以至于市长无法按计划行事。 市长喜欢刻薄，但秘书总是要求他改变决定。

The mayor decided to find some fault with his secretary. One day, during a terrible snowstorm, the mayor called his secretary into his office. The mayor said with a cruel smile, “ My good fellow, I have a desire for fresh peaches and strawberries. I want you to go out and get these for me. I know it is a difficult task, so Iwill give you one month to complete it. ”

市长决定对他的秘书吹毛求疵。一天，在一场可怕的暴风雪中，市长把他的秘书叫到了办公室。 市长残酷地笑着说：“我的好朋友，我渴望新鲜的桃子和草莓。 我想让你出去帮我拿这些。我知道这是一项艰巨的任务，所以我会给你一个月的时间来完成。”

Then he continued, “ When you complete this task, I will reward you generously. But if you should fail, I will ask you to resign. ” The secretary didn’t know how to refuse. He thought to himself, “ Where can I find peaches and strawberries at this time of year? Nowhere! I couldn’t even buy them with all the money in the world. ”

然后他继续说道：“当你完成这项任务时，我会慷慨地奖励你。但如果你失败了，我会要求你辞职。” 秘书不知道如何拒绝，他心想：“每年这个时候，我在哪里能找到桃子和草莓？ 无处！我用世界上所有的钱都买不到。”

The mayor’s demand was completely unreasonable. But the secretary knew that the mayor was testing his loyalty. “ This is hopeless, totally hopeless, ” he moaned. The secretary gathered his strength and decided to give the task his best try. He told his family that he had to go away on important business.

市长的要求完全不合理。但秘书知道市长在考验他的忠诚。“这是绝望的，完全绝望的，”他哀叹道。 秘书鼓足了劲，决定尽最大努力完成这项任务。他告诉家人，他必须去做重要的生意。

He packed a small bag and set off in the snow to look for fresh peaches and strawberries. He went from city to city, but could not find the fruit anywhere. After several weeks of searching, he became very sick and returned home. The secretary’s young son looked at him and asked, “ Father, why did you go away?”

他收拾了一个小包，在雪地里出发寻找新鲜的桃子和草莓。 他从一个城市到另一个城市，但在任何地方都找不到水果。 经过几个星期的寻找，他病得很重，回到了家。 秘书的小儿子看着他问：“爸爸，你为什么要走？”

The sick father, fearing that he might die, told his son the truth. The little boy listened quietly until his father finished. Then he spoke: “ Father, I want you to rest and recover from your illness. Please do not think about this task anymore. I have an idea. I think I can persuade the mayor to withdraw his demand. ”

生病的父亲担心自己会死，告诉了儿子真相。 小男孩静静地听着，直到父亲说完。然后他说：“父亲，我希望你休息，从疾病中康复。 请不要再考虑这个任务。我有个主意。我想我可以说服市长撤回他的要求。”