Once there was a farmer. He lived in a dry land. Each morning, the farmer would walk to a nearby well(井) to get water for drinking. After making two buckets(桶) full of water from the well, the farmer would carefully place a bamboo stick over his shoulders to carry them home.
One of the buckets had a small hole. All the way home from the well, it would leakwater along the way. By the time the farmer got home, the leaky bucket would be only half full. This went on for years, and the leaky bucket began feeling sad and sorry. One day it called out to the farmer, "I'm so sorry that I leak! I am making life harder for you."
The farmer only smiled. "Dear bucket," he said, "Look at this way we are on. Don't you see many beautiful flowers growing next to it? Those flowers bloom (开花) only on the side I carry you on when we make our way home. The water you drop has brought beauty into the world. These flowers have given me so much joy on my walks to and from the well."
