Slovenčina / C1
Drevený a živý kôň
Keď sa živý kôň ponáhľal popri drevenom, potkol sa a kopytom narazil do kameňa, až to zazvonilo. Drevený kôň si jeho zakopnutie všimol a hneď sa mu začal vysmievať.
„Ha, ha! Aká nešikovnosť!“ zvolal pri pohľade na živého koňa.
Živý kôň však obrátil rozhovor iným smerom. Položil drevenému koňovi otázku: „A ty si už niekedy chodil?“
„Ja nie,“ odpovedal drevený kôň.
„Nuž si nechaj smiech na chvíľu, keď začneš chodiť aj ty,“ odvetil mu živý kôň.
Rozdiel medzi nimi bol podstatný: živý kôň pri chôdzi zakopol, no drevený kôň ešte nikdy nechodil. Je ľahké vyhnúť sa chybám, pokiaľ sa človek vyhýba akejkoľvek činnosti.
English summary · includes the ending
A living horse is hurrying past a wooden horse when he trips. His hoof strikes a stone with a clear ringing sound. The wooden horse sees what has happened and laughs at him. He calls the living horse clumsy, making fun of the mistake he has just seen.
The living horse answers with a question rather than an argument about the stone. Has the wooden horse ever walked? The wooden horse admits that he has not. The living horse then tells him to save his laughter until he starts walking himself.
The final lesson is that it is easy to avoid mistakes when you do nothing at all. The wooden horse has no experience of the activity he is laughing at. The living horse has stumbled while walking; the wooden horse has never walked. That simple difference gives the short exchange its point.
Adapted for Lejrbål from the credited source.
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