梅林樹林
想要找到這位智慧的大法師不是件簡單的事，樹林有很多，梅林只有一名。所以武士不停地向前騎，日以繼夜，同時也變得越來越虛弱。
獨自一個人騎馬穿過無數的樹林以後，武士得到一個結論—他其實不是什麼都懂。以前他一直認為自己很聰明。現在，千方百計地想在樹林裡活下去，他覺得自己真笨得可以。
雖然不情願，但他必須承認，他甚至不知道哪種莓子有毒，哪種可以吃。每次吃莓子都像在玩俄羅斯輪盤。喝水稍微不那麼危險，他可以把頭放進小溪裡喝水，可是頭盔裡充滿了水，有兩次他都差一點給淹死。這還不是最糟的，自從進了樹林以後他就迷路了，完全分不清東西南北，幸好他的馬比他有方向感得多。
過了好幾個月這種大海撈針的日子，武士簡直心灰意冷，即使他已經走了好多里格的路，他還是沒有找到梅林。更令人沮喪的是，他甚至不曉得一里格有多遠。（注：一里格約四點八公里。）
有天早上，他醒了過來，覺得虛弱之外，還有一點奇怪的感覺。就在那天，他找到了梅林，睿智的大法師，武士馬上就認出他來。梅林坐在一棵樹下，穿著一件長長的白袍子，林子裡的動物圍在他的身旁，鳥兒棲息在他的肩膀和手臂上。
武士悶悶不樂地搖搖頭，他的盔甲發出一陣聲響，為什麼動物這麼容易就可以找到梅林，而他卻要這麼辛苦？
他疲倦地從馬上爬下來。「我到處在找你，」武士說：「我迷路迷了好幾個月。」
「其實是一輩子。」梅林糾正他，又咬下一塊紅蘿蔔，遞給身旁的兔子。
武士馬上變得很僵硬：「我不是來這裡受你侮辱的。」
「也許你一直覺得，事情的真相是個侮辱。」梅林說著，同時把紅蘿蔔再分給其他的動物吃。
武士也不喜歡這句話，可是，他又餓又渴，非常虛弱，沒辦法騎上馬離開，相反的，他那金屬包裹的身子摔倒在草地上。梅林同情地看了他一眼：「你真幸運，你太虛弱了，不能逃走。」
「這是什麼意思？」武士厲聲叫道。
梅林微笑著：「人不能邊跑邊學，一定要在一個地方停留一會兒。」
武士軟化了下來：「我只要學會怎麼從這套盔甲裡出來，我就走。」
「等到你學會了，」梅林建議：「你就再也不用上馬，朝四面八方前進了。」
武士累到不能問為什麼，可是他覺得安心，所以馬上就睡著了。
In Merlin’s Woods
It was no easy task to find the wily wizard. There were many woods to search but only one Merlin. So the poor knight rode on, day after day, night after night, becoming weaker and weaker.
As he rode through the woods alone, the knight realized there were many things he didn’t know. He’d always thought of himself as very smart, but he didn’t feel very smart at all trying to survive in the woods.
Reluctantly he admitted to himself that he didn’t even know the poisonous berries from the edible ones. This made eating a game of Russian roulette. Drinking was no less hazardous. The knight tried sticking his head into a stream, but his helmet filled up with water. Twice, he almost drowned. As if that weren’t bad enough, he had been lost since entering the woods. The knight couldn’t tell north from south or east from west. Fortunately, his horse could.
After months of searching in vain, the knight was quite discouraged. He still hadn’t found Merlin even though he’d traveled many leagues. What made him feel worse was the fact that he didn’t even know how far a league was.
One morning, he woke up feeling weaker than usual and a little peculiar. That was the morning he found Merlin. The knight recognized the magician at once. He was sitting under a tree, clothed in a long white robe. Animals of the forest were gathered around him, and birds were perched on his shoulders and arms.
The knight shook his head glumly from side to side, his armor squeaking as he did. How could all these animals find Merlin so easily when it was so hard for me?
Wearily, the knight climbed down from his horse. “I’ve been looking for you,” he said to the magician. “I’ve been lost for months.”
“All your life,” corrected Merlin, biting off a piece of carrot and sharing it with the nearest rabbit.
The knight stiffened. “I didn’t come all this way to be insulted.”
“Perhaps you have always taken the truth to be an insult,” said Merlin, sharing the carrot with some of the other animals.
The knight didn’t much like this remark either, but he was too weak from hunger and thirst to climb back on his horse and ride away. Instead, he dropped his metal-encased body onto the grass. Merlin looked at him compassionately. “You are most fortunate,” he commented. “You are too weak to run.”
“What does that mean?” snapped the knight.
Merlin smiled in reply. “A person cannot run and also learn. He must stay in one place for a while.”
“I’m going to stay here only long enough to learn how to get out of this armor,” said the knight.
“When you learn that,” stated Merlin, “you will never again have to climb on your horse and ride off in all directions.”
The knight was too tired to question this. Somehow, he felt comforted and fell promptly asleep.
本文節錄自：《為自己出征》一書，羅伯．費雪（Robert Fisher）著，王石珍譯，方智出版。
