There was a man who was going through hard times. His wife left him. He went bankrupt （破产） after only a year in business. Although he worked hard, failure was all that he had seen. Struggling（挣扎） with this, he left everything behind and went into the forest. There, he met an old man who had lived there for a long time. He shared his story with the old man. "Can you give me one good reason not to give up? " he asked the old man.
"Look, " the old man said, pointing to two plants. "Do you see that fern （蕨类植物） and bamboo there? "
"Yes, " the man answered.
"When I planted the fern and bamboo seeds （种子），I took very good care of them. In a short period of time, the fern quickly grew from the earth, " the old man went on.
"Although I watered and took care of the bamboo seed for years, it did not sprout （发芽）. There was no sign of growth. But I did not give up on the bamboo seed and went on looking after it. In the fifth year, a small sprout came out of the earth. And within six months, the tree grew a hundred feet tall.
"The little bamboo tree had been growing underground for the past four years, developing a root system （根系） strong enough for its ground growth in the fifth year. If it hadn't done this, it would not be as strong as it is now. So you know, all the time you were struggling, you were actually growing strong roots, " the old man said.
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