英語講故事比賽素材之“自相矛盾”，英文繪本，少兒英語

自相矛盾

The Spear and the Shield Paradox

在古代的中國，有一個賣兵器的小販。他總是能說出一些很厲害的話來吸引顧客。有一天，他在集市上擺攤賣他的長矛和盾牌。

In ancient China, there was a peddler who sold weapons. He always said impressive things to attract customers. One day, he set up a stall at the market to sell his spears and shields.

他首先拿起一支長矛，高聲叫賣：“快來看啊！這是我家傳的無敵長矛，它能刺穿任何盾牌，沒有什麼東西能夠擋住它！”大家聽了都很好奇，紛紛圍了過來。

First, he picked up a spear and shouted, "Come and see! This is my family's invincible spear. It can pierce through any shield, and nothing can stop it!" Everyone was curious and gathered around.

接着，小販又拿起一個盾牌，自信滿滿地說：“還有這個盾牌，它也是無敵的！什麼東西都不能刺穿它，任何攻擊都對它無效！”人們聽了更加驚訝，覺得這個盾牌也非常厲害。

Then, the peddler picked up a shield and confidently said, "And this shield is also invincible! Nothing can pierce through it, and any attack is useless against it!" People were even more amazed and thought the shield was extraordinary.

這時，有一個小孩撓了撓頭，好奇地問道：“你說你的長矛能刺穿任何東西，你的盾牌也能擋住任何攻擊，那如果用你的長矛去刺你的盾牌，會發生什麼呢？”

At this moment, a child scratched his head and curiously asked, "You said your spear can pierce through anything, and your shield can block any attack. So what happens if you use your spear to pierce your shield?"

小販聽了這話，頓時語塞，不知道該怎麼回答。原來，他自己說的話互相矛盾。從這個故事中，我們可以學到：說話做事要前後一致，不能自相矛盾，否則會讓人覺得不可信。

The peddler was speechless and didn't know how to answer. It turned out that his words contradicted each other. From this story, we can learn that our words and actions should be consistent and not contradictory, or else people will find us untrustworthy.