English Original
A father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion. For this purpose, he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks.
When they had done so, he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength but were not able to do it.
He next opened the faggot, took the sticks separately one by one, and again put them into his sons' hands, upon which they broke them easily.
He then addressed them in these words: "My sons, if you are of one mind and unite to assist each other, you will be as this faggot, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks."
中文翻译
一位父亲有几个儿子，他们之间争吵不休。当他无法通过劝诫来平息他们的纷争时，他决定用一个实际的例子向他们展示不团结的害处。为此，有一天，他让儿子们给他拿来一捆木棒。
木棒拿来后，他依次将这捆木棒交到每个儿子手中，命令他们将其折断。他们用尽全力尝试，却无法做到。
接着，他解开那捆木棒，将木棒一根一根分开，再次放到儿子们手中。这一次，他们轻而易举地就把木棒折断了。
于是，父亲对他们说道：“我的儿子们，如果你们同心同德，团结互助，就会像这捆木棒一样，敌人的任何企图都无法伤害你们；但如果你们内部不和，就会像这些单根的木棒一样，轻易就被折断。”