A SERMON ON A TWIG
用树枝布道
1.My little people，as I am to preach in the woods，I will take this twig （holding up a nice beechen rod）for my text.And for once I beg you not to complain that the preacher does not stick to his text.Why should I not，when I have a stick for my text？
2.“As the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.”You see how easily the twig is bent.The pressure of my thumb and finger，or a simple accident，will twist it into many shapes.Never was a twig so stout that it could not be bent.
3.Will a straight boy make a straight man？By no means.Some of the sweetest children often make the worst of men and women.How easily one can spoil a twig！The one I have is graceful and pretty；but when I cut it，the worms had just begun to build a nest within its top.
4.They had wound a web about it.Quite soon they would have bent over its head and eaten off its leaves，and made it the shroud of dead flies and insects.O，what a sight！A beautiful twig spoiled by a worm‘s nest！And thus easily are little children spoiled by bad company and bad habits.
5.Swearing，and smoking，and mockery，and vulgarity，wind themselves over the good boy’s heart，like a spider‘s web in thedark.Beauty is gone，virtue is gone；love and esteem are gone.The sweet child，too，has gone，and a wicked，ugly one stands in his place.Woe to you，my children，when the straight boy makes a crooked man！
6.But again：will the crooked boy always make a crooked man？Not by any means.Never was a boy so bad that he could not make a good man.The worst of children often make the best of people.“As the twig is bent the tree’s inclined.”But you must stoutly overcome the inclination.See the trees around you：almost everyone is growing straighter and straighter.
7.When the woodman cuts a crooked tree he finds a double thickness of timber laid upon the inside of the heart，as if nature would take out the crook，which she often does.And so the crooked boy and girl should rule the heart.Thicken it with virtue on the weakest side，and make its crooked places straight.
8.You have heard the story of the wicked boy who uttered so many falsehoods.His father told him to drive a nail into the door-post every time he told a lie.At last he filled the whole post full of nails，and then he sat down and cried because every body would know how many lies he had told.
9.“Well，then，”said his father，“we will pull out a nail every time you tell the truth，”By and by the nails were all out，but the boy sat down and cried again，because the scars were left.
10.But you should know，my little people，that a twig is not a door-post.Some twigs are knotty as well as crooked.But see how they grow straighter，and taller，and handsomer，till the homely little twig becomes a stately and beautiful tree！
11.And again：let us remember the composition of twigs，and what they become.Out of the little twigs these tall trees were made.And how unlike they are！Useful，ornamental，ugly，and beautiful：thus we classify the trees.
12.Here is a beech，there is a maple，yonder is a hemlock，and farther on is an appletree and a pear-tree.How delicious the fruit of the pear-tree！But there is an old and knotty hemlock，like a miser in his den.
13.He has done no good since he was born.He grows，larger，taller，and thicker，and I may say richer and older and coarser，as the miser grows rougher and meaner，till he is dead；then somebody will use what he had abused.Let it not be so with you.Be useful every day.Be useful all your life.
【中文阅读】
1.孩子们，因为我马上就要去森林里布道，因此我要带上这根木棍（举起一根非常好的山毛榉棍子）。仅此一次，我请求你们不要抱怨我这个牧师这样做，因为如果我可以用这个棍子布道的话，为什么不可以呢？
2.“这根棍子是弯的，所以肯定那棵树也是弯的。”你们都明白要让棍子弯起来很容易，只要两个手指一用力，或者仅仅很简单的一个小撞击，它就会弯曲成各种形状。没有哪个棍子能壮实到不能弯曲的程度。
3.那么，一个好孩子长大成人后也会自然而然成为一个好人吗？不是的！有些善良的孩子长大后却成了最坏的人，要毁掉一根棍子是很容易的！我手里这根棍子虽然很好、很漂亮，但是在我把它从树上砍下来时，我却看到虫子已经开始在这个树枝的一端挖洞筑巢了。
4.这些虫子还在上面缠网，很快它们就把一端弄弯，然后吃光上面的叶子，再网住飞蛾和昆虫。天啊！那会是什么情景啊！一根漂亮的棍子竟然被虫窝所毁！所以说，小孩子也很容易受到坏孩子、坏习惯的影响而被毁掉。
5.说脏话、吸烟、戏弄人、做粗野动作，这些在好孩子幼小的心中作祟，以至于改变了他们，就像是黑暗中的蜘蛛网，美丽不见了，美德消失了，爱心和自尊也没有了，那个善良的孩子也找不到了，人们见到的却是一个邪恶、令人厌恶的人。唉！孩子们，是什么时候那个原来的好孩子变坏的？
6.再说，坏孩子长大后就一定是坏人吗？不是的！从来就没有这样的定律说坏孩子长大了就不可能成为好人。最坏的孩子长大后却可能成为最出色的人。“树是弯的，所以树枝也是弯的。”但是树枝一定要非常强壮，这样才能克服掉树干的弯曲。看看你周围的树木吧，几乎所有的树都是越长越直的。
7.伐木工们发现，他们每砍掉一棵长弯的树时，弯曲的中心部分的木材都会比不弯曲部分中心的木材厚一倍，就仿佛大自然不想让树木显现出弯曲来。因此说对没走正路的孩子们，要规范他们的心灵，要补缺他们美德中缺失的部分，就像让弯曲的部分变直一样。
8.你已经听到过那个有关坏孩子的故事了吗：这个孩子的父亲让他每说一次谎话，就在门柱上钉一颗钉子，后来整个门柱上钉满了钉子，于是他坐下来放声大哭，因为这样大家就都知道他说了多少谎话了。
9.“这样吧，”爸爸对他说，“你以后每说一次实话就拔出一根钉子来。”一根接着一根，所有的钉子都被拔了出来，但是孩子又坐下来放声大哭，因为柱子上满满的都是钉子眼。
10.小读者们，你们要知道，棍子不是门柱，木棍不仅能弯曲，还能长结，能补救弯曲的部分。从这里我们就能明白树干是怎样长得更直、更高、更漂亮，怎样从一棵普通小树长成一棵高大、威严的参天大树的了！
11.还有，让我们想一想小树枝的结构吧，想一想他们后来成为了什么。就是这些小嫩树枝后来长成了大树，柔弱的树枝和挺拔的参天大树多么不同啊！实用性强的和装饰性强的、丑的和美的：我们就是这样来给树进行分类的。
12.这是一棵山毛榉，那是一棵枫树，远处是一棵铁杉，再远一点是一棵苹果树和一棵梨树。那棵梨树的果实多香甜啊！但是那棵铁杉又老树结又多，就像是小黑窝里的守财奴。
13.铁杉从开始生长就不会有什么用处。他长啊长啊，又大又高又壮，可以说是越长越粗、越老、越粗糙，就像是吝啬鬼越来越吝啬，直至死掉，这时人们就会随意使用。请你们不要如此，让自己成为有用的人吧，每天都有用，一生都有用。
