30 Abe’s Favorite Story

If he hadn’t turned to politics, Abe Lincoln might have done well as a comic. It has been said that he was always ready to join in a laugh at his own expense. There is one particular story that he always told with great glee.

In his early days as a lawyer, Lincoln was on the “circuit”. This meant going from town to town to hear and judge legal cases. During one of these many trips, he was sitting in a train when a strange man came up to him. The stranger looked at the tall, gangly lawyer quite sternly and explained that he had something he believed belonged to Lincoln. Lincoln was a bit confused. He had never seen the man before. He didn’t see how a total stranger could have something of his. Lincoln asked him how this could be. The stranger pulled out a gleaming penknife and began to explain. Many years before, he had been given the pocketknife. He had been told to keep it until he was able to find a man uglier than himself. He had been Lincoln’s eyes always sparkled when he reached this part of the story. He was never considered a handsome man. The stranger had decided that Lincoln was ugly enough to deserve the knife. The story always brought smiles to the faces of the audience that heard it. The tale itself was funny. But even more delightful was the fact that a man as great as Lincoln could still laugh at himself.

30 亚伯的最爱故事

如果亚伯·林肯没有投身政界，他可能会成为一名出色的喜剧演员。据说，他总是乐于拿自己开玩笑。有一个特别的故事，他总是兴致勃勃地讲述。

在他早年当律师的时候，林肯在“巡回审判”途中。这意味着他要从一个城镇前往另一个城镇，审理法律案件。在一次这样的长途旅行中，他正坐在火车上，这时一个陌生人向他走来。这个陌生人相当严厉地看着这位高大、瘦削的律师，解释说他有一样东西，他认为是属于林肯的。林肯有点困惑，他以前从未见过这个人，不明白一个完全陌生的人怎么会有他的东西。林肯问他怎么会这样。陌生人掏出一把闪闪发光的折刀，开始解释。许多年前，他得到了这把袖珍折刀，别人告诉他要留着它，直到他能找到一个比自己更丑的人。

林肯讲到这个故事的这部分时，眼睛总是闪闪发光。他从来都不被认为是个英俊的人。陌生人认定林肯丑到足以配得上这把刀。这个故事总是能给听过的听众带来笑容。故事本身很有趣，但更令人愉快的是，像林肯这样伟大的人仍然能自嘲。