Three cedars in Lebanon

有一个著名的古老神话，说的是昔日美丽的黎巴嫩森林长出了三棵雪松。

众所周知，雪松长大需要很长时间，所以它们度过了整整几个世纪，对生命、死亡、自然和人类进行思考。它们目睹了所罗门派遣的一支以色列远征军来到此处，后又看到了与亚述人交战期间血染的大地。它们认识了耶洗别和先知以利亚，那是两个不共戴天的死敌。它们观察到字母的发明，并被过往的满载花布的商船弄得眼花缭乱。

风和日丽的某一天，它们就前程问题进行了一场对话。

“目睹了这一切之后，我想变成世上最为强大的国王的宝座。”第一棵雪松说。

“我愿意永远成为某种永远把恶变为善的某种东西的组成部分。”第二棵雪松说。

“我希望每当人们看到我的时候，都能想到上帝。”第三棵雪松说。

过了段时间，伐木人来了，三棵雪松被砍伐，一艘船把它们运往远方。

每一棵雪松都怀有一个愿望，然而现实却从不询问何为梦想。第一棵雪松被用来修建一个牲口棚，剩余部分则做成草料架。第二棵雪松变成了一张十分简陋的桌子。第三棵雪松因为没有找到买主，便被截断放进一座仓库里。三棵雪松都深感不幸，它们抱怨说：“我们的木质虽好，却没有人把我们用于某种美好的东西上。”

上帝却命令它们少安毋躁、保持希望，并应许说它们的梦想必将实现。

过了一段日子，在一个繁星满天的夜晚，有一对贫穷的夫妇在旅途上未能找到栖身之处，妻子却快要临产了。他们决定在路边那个由第一棵雪松修建的牲口棚里过夜。临产的妇人疼痛地不住呻吟，最后她在这里分娩，并将婴孩放在了草料架上。此次此刻，第一棵雪松明白了它的梦想已经实现：这个婴儿便是世上的万王之王。

又过了若干年，在一个简陋的房间里，几个男人围坐在由第二棵雪松制成的那张桌子周围。在众人开始就餐之前，其中的一个人就摆放在他面前的面包和葡萄酒说了一些话，然后众人一起含着眼泪分享面包和酒。于是，第二棵雪松明白了，此次此刻，它所支撑的不仅仅是一只酒杯和一块面包，而且还是世人与上帝的联盟。

第二天，有人取出用第三棵雪松切割成的两根木料，将它们钉成十字架的形状，随即将它扔到一个角落里。几个小时之后，士兵们强迫一个名叫西门的乡下人背起这个十字架，而走在前面的是一个被野蛮殴打遍体鳞伤的男人。在各各他，兵丁们把这个男子钉在了用第三棵雪松制造的十字架上。第三雪松感到毛骨悚然，对生活留给它的野蛮遗产感到伤心。然而，在三天时间过去之后，第三棵雪松明白了自己的使命：曾被钉在这里的男人如今已成为照亮那一切的光芒。用它的木料制成的十字架已不再是苦难的象征，却变成了胜利的信号。

所有的梦想总是如此，黎巴嫩的三棵雪松履行了它们所希望的天命，但是方式却与它们所想像的不同。

There is a famous old myth about three cedars growing out of the beautiful forests of Lebanon. As we all know, Cedars take a long time to grow, so they spend centuries thinking about life, death, nature and humans. They witnessed the arrival of an Israeli Expeditionary Force dispatched by Solomon, and later the bloodstained land of the Assyrians. They meet Jezebel and the prophet Elijah, mortal enemies. They observed the invention of the alphabet and were dazzled by the passing merchant ships laden with calico. On a sunny day they had a conversation about their future. "after what I've seen, I want to be the most powerful king in the world," said the first cedar. "I will always be part of something that will always turn evil into good," said the second cedar. "I want people to think of God every time they look at me," said the third cedar. After a while, the woodcutter came, three cedars were cut down, and a ship carried them away. Every cedar has a wish, but reality never asks what a dream is. The first cedar was used to build a barn and the rest was used as a hay frame. The second cedars became a very humble table. The third cedars, unable to find a buyer, were cut up and placed in a warehouse. All three cedars were deeply unhappy. They complained, "our wood is good, but no one uses us for something good." God commanded them to be patient and keep hope, and promised that their dreams would come true. After a while, on a starry night, a poor couple could not find shelter on their journey, but their wife was about to give birth. They decided to spend the night in the barn built by the first cedar on the side of the road. The parturient woman moaned in pain until she gave birth here and placed the baby on the Hay Rack. This time, the first cedar knew its dream had come true: the baby was the King of Kings. Some years later, in a shabby room, several men sat around a table made of a second cedar. Before they began to eat, one of them said something about the bread and wine that was placed before him, and they all shared the bread and wine in tears. And so the second cedar understood that, at this moment, it supported not only a glass and a loaf of bread, but also the union of Man and God. The next day, someone took two pieces of wood cut from a third cedar, nailed them in the shape of a cross, and threw them into a corner. A few hours later, soldiers forced a countryman named Simmen to carry the cross, with a man savagely beaten and bruised walking in front. At Golgotha, the soldiers nailed the man to a cross made of a third cedar. The third cedars were creeped out and grieved at the savage legacy life had left them. Three days later, however, the third cedar understood its mission: the man who had been nailed there was now the light that lit it all up. The cross made of its wood was no longer a symbol of suffering, but a sign of victory. All dreams are like this: three cedars in Lebanon have fulfilled their destiny, but not in the way they imagined.

标题: 黎巴嫩的三棵雪松
作者: 保罗·科埃略
字数: 1086
简介: 有一个著名的古老神话，说的是昔日美丽的黎巴嫩森林长出了三棵雪松。众所周知，雪松长大需要很长时间，所以它们度过了整整几个世纪，对生命、死亡、自