English Original
An old man, afflicted with a family of contentious sons, brought in a bundle of sticks and asked the young men to break it. After repeated efforts, they confessed that it could not be done.
"Behold," said the old man, "the advantage of unity; as long as these sticks are in alliance they are invincible, but observe how feeble they are individually."
Pulling a single stick from the bundle, he broke it easily upon the head of the eldest son, and this he repeated until all had been served.
中文翻译
一位老人，为家中争吵不休的儿子们所困扰，拿来一捆木棍，让年轻人们把它折断。他们反复尝试后，承认无法做到。
老人说：“看吧，这就是团结的好处。只要这些木棍结盟在一起，它们就坚不可摧。但看看它们单独时是多么脆弱。”
他从那捆木棍中抽出一根，轻易地在大儿子的头上将其折断，并重复这一过程，直到所有儿子都“领教”了一遍。