A Knowledgeable man met God. He asked God angrily, “I am an erudite . Why don't you give me an opportunity to come to fame?”
God answered helplessly, “You're erudite, but you just tried everything a little, not deep enough, so how can you come to fame?”
Having heard this, the man started practicing the piano hard. Afterwards, he had played the piano very well, but he still didn't become famous.
He went to ask God again, “My God! I have mastered the piano, but why don't you give me any chance to win a name yet?”
God shook his head and said, “It's not that I wouldn't like to offer you any chance but you can't grasp the chance. For the first time, I helped you in secret take part in the piano contest, but you lacked confidence; for the second time, you lacked courage. How can you blame me?”
After hearing God's words, the man trained hard for more years. He built up his self-confidence and mustered up the nerve to participate in the competition. He played extremely well, but due to the referee's injustice, the chance of fame was seized by the other.
Downhearted, the man said to God, “God, I've tried my best this time. It seems doomed that I won't be able to rise to fame.”
God told him with a smile, “In fact, you've almost succeeded. You only need a final leap.”
“A final leap?” His eyes opened wide.
God nodded and said, “You've got the ticket for success — frustration. Now you've got it, the success is a gift that setbacks will give you.”
This time, that man bore in mind God's words. As expected, he succeeded.
一位博学的人碰到上帝，气鼓鼓地问：“我这么一个学识渊博的人，您为什么就不能给个机会让我成名呢？”
上帝无奈地回答：“你有学问没错，可是你凡事都浅尝辄止，不够深入，怎么会出名呢？”
听完这话，这个人开始苦练钢琴。后来，他的钢琴虽然弹得很好，可还是无名之流。
他又跑去问上帝：“我的主啊！我的琴技炉火纯青，您怎么还不给我机会出头啊？”
上帝摇了摇头，说：“不是我不给你机会，是你不把握机会啊。头一次，我暗中助你参加钢琴比赛，可你却没自信。第二次，你又不够有胆量。怎么能跑来埋怨我呢？”
听了上帝的话，这个人又刻苦练琴，练了好几年。他树立了自信心，鼓起勇气参加了比赛。他弹得好极了，可是由于裁判不公，成名的机会落到了别人头上。
他心灰意冷，对上帝说：“主啊，我这次可尽力了。看来我注定成不了名人哪。”
上帝笑着告诉他：“其实，你几乎已经成功了，只差最后一跃。”
“最后一跃？”他睁大了眼睛。
上帝点点头说：“你已经拿到了通往成功的门票，就是沮丧。既然你拿到了，成功就是这些挫折送给你的礼物啊。”
这次，他把上帝的话铭记在心。不出所料，他真的成功了。
-erudite [ˈerʊdaɪt] adj. 博学的
-muster [ˈmʌstə(r)] v. 集合
-setback [ˈsetbæk] n. 挫折
“Do not, for one repulse, give up the purpose that you resolved to effect.”(不要只因一次失败，就放弃你原来决心达到的目标。)
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