Ages ago， when God himself walked upon earth ， the ground's fertility was much greater than it now is. At that time the ears did not return fifty or sixty-fold ， but rather four to five hundred-fold. The kernels1 grew from the bottom to the top of the stalk. However long the stalk was ， that was also the length of the ear. But it is the way of humankind ， that when they have a surplus they do not value the blessings2 that come from God ， but instead become indifferent and frivolous3. One day a woman was walking along a grain field ， and her little child， who was jumping along beside her ， fell into a puddle4 and got his clothes dirty. The mother tore off a handful of the beautiful ears of grain and cleaned his clothes with them. The Lord was just then passing by ， and when he saw her doing this， he became angry and said， “From this time forth5 the grain -stalk shall bear no more ears of grain. Humans are not worthy6 of thi s heavenly gift. ” The bystanders who heard this were horrified7， fell to their knees， and begged him to leave at least something on the grain-stalk ， even if they did not deserve it ， at least for the sake of the innocent chickens ， who otherwise would starve to death. The Lord， foreseeing the misery8 that would come ， took pity on them and granted their wish. Thus the ear at the top of the stalk remained ， just as it grows today. 远古时代，当上帝亲自巡视大地时，土地的产量比现在高得多。那时，麦穗不只结五 六十粒，而是四五百粒，麦秆从头到脚长满了麦粒，秆有多长，穗就有多长。不过人类是 如此的浅俗，他们生活丰裕时，就不再珍惜上苍的恩赐，以致变得漫不经心、大手大脚。 一天，一位妇女路经一片麦地，她的小孩在她身边跑着，一下跌进了泥坑里，弄髒了小衣 服。 於是，这位母亲扯下一把漂亮的麦穗，用它擦净了衣服。 碰巧上帝从这儿经过，见到这情形他非常生气，说：“从此麦秆不再结穗，人类不配 再获得上苍的赐予。”周围的人听到这话吓坏了，纷纷跪下，祈求上帝仍留些麦穗於秆上， 即使人类不配这个恩赐，但是为了那些无辜的家禽，求上帝开恩，否则它们就会饿死。上 帝预见到人类的苦难，可怜他们，答应了这个请求。於是麦穗留了下来，就像现在生长的 这样子。 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/0154445d15fc700abb68a98271fe910ef12dae9f.html