A man once had four sons who never stopped quarrelling with one another. He was always telling them how much easier life would be if they worked together but they took absolutely no notice of him. One day he decided to show them what he meant.
He called all the sons together and put a tightly tied bundle of sticks on the floor in front of them.
“Can you break that?” he asked the youngest son. The boy put his knees on the bundle but though he pressed and pulled with his arms he could not bend the wood. The father asked each son in turn to try to break the bundle, but none of them could do it.
Then he untied the string and scattered the sticks.
“Now try,” he said. The boys broke the sticks easily in their hands.
“Do you see what I mean?” asked the father. “If only you stand together no one can hurt you. If you all disagree the whole time and insist on going your separate ways, the first enemy you meet will be able to destroy you.”
从前，一个父亲有四个儿子，兄弟四人整日争吵不休。父亲总是告诫他们，如果同心协力，日子会好过得多，可是他们根本听不进去。有一天，父亲决定让他们看看什么叫兄弟同心，其利断金。
他把儿子们叫到一起，在地上放了一捆紧紧绑在一起的棍子让他们看。
“你能掰得断吗？”他问小儿子。男孩跪在那捆棍子上，用胳膊又是压又是拽，可怎么掰都掰不弯。父亲让儿子们轮流尝试，结果没人能掰断。
后来，父亲把捆木棍的绳子解开，把棍子拨散。
“再试试。”他说。孩子们很轻易就掰折了手里的棍子。
“这下你们明白我说的是什么意思了吧？”父亲说，“只有团结一致，才没人能伤害你们。如果你们总是互不相让、固执己见，来个敌人就把你们都收拾了。”
-string [strɪŋ] n. 绳子
英语国家的人们常说：“United we stand; Divided we fall.” (团结则存，分裂则亡。)