36.Once upon a time, a man was lucky to have a loving son. But the young man never had to deal with any problems.
"My boy should have some experience of dealing with ill luck, " thought the father, so he sent the son into the forest to bring back some wood. Only an old cart (马车) with two oxen (公牛) was free for the work.
"If your cart breaks up in the forest, 'Necessity' will teach you what to do, " the man said. The son thought that "Necessity" must be a kind man who lived in the forest and helped people in trouble.
The son drove far into the forest and found lots of good trees. He cut down the trees and put the wood onto the cart. When the cart was full, he set off for home. However, as he drove over the rough ground, one of the axles (车轴) broke.
"I hope that 'Necessity' is nearby, " thought the son. Then he ran all the way through the forest and shouted, "NECESSITY!NE﹣CESS﹣ITY!!"
No one answered.
"I will stop searching for Father's clever friend, " he thought. "I will do the job myself. What useless advice Father gave me!"
He went back to the cart and started to repair the axle. When the work was done, he drove home. Finally, he made a fine job of both the repair and collecting good wood.
His father was pleased with him, but the boy was quite angry. "I could not find 'Necessity' anywhere, " said the son. "He did not teach me anything. All I've learned is that ________ . "
"There you are, " smiled the father. "'Necessity' did teach you a good lesson. I told you he would. "