If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
A bee if dropped into an open glass will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.
In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right there above them.
【助读词汇】
-buzzard n. 秃鹰，美国红头鹫
-pen n.（牛、羊、家禽等的）圈，围栏
-bat n. 蝙蝠
-nimble adj.灵敏的，灵活的，轻盈的
-level adj. 平的，水平的
-shuffle v. 拖步走，来回移动
-frustration n. 挫败，挫折，失意
【参考译文】
如果你把一只秃鹰放进一个六到八平方英尺的围栏里，围栏的顶部是空的，虽然鸟有飞的本领，可是这只秃鹰会变成一个绝对的囚犯。原因就是秃鹰在从地面起飞之前都会有一段10至12英尺的助跑，按照秃鹰的习惯，如果没有足够的空间助跑的话，它甚至都不会想到要试着去飞，而是会在这个没有封顶的小监狱里当一辈子的囚犯。
普通的蝙蝠一般在晚上飞行，在空中行动非常敏捷，但是却不能在平地上起飞。如果把它放在地板或者平地上，毫无疑问，它能做的就是痛苦而无助地徘徊，直到它找到一个稍稍有点高度的地方，它可以把自己扔进空中，它才会马上像一道闪电一样飞走。
如果一只蜜蜂掉进了一个开口的玻璃杯，除非有人把它拿出来，否则它就会待在那里直到死。它从来就没有看到逃生的办法就在头顶，而是一直试图在底部附近的四周找出口。它会一直寻找一个不存在的出路直到把自己彻底毁了。
很多时候，人就好像这秃鹰、这蝙蝠和这蜜蜂。人们总是与自己的问题和失意斗争，却从没有意识到问题的答案就在自己的头顶上。
【人生启迪】
很多时候人在感到迷惑的时候，他们都只是把自己困在一个小天地里，不能抽身而出，看不到别处，找不到自己的出路，就好像是“不知庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中”一般。其实，有时候我们只要抬头看看，就会发现原来答案离自己好近。