The Bundle of Sticks
Le Faisceau de Bâtons
A father wants to teach his sons an important lesson about working together. He uses a simple bundle of sticks to show them something they will never forget.
A father had many sons.
Un père avait de nombreux fils.
The sons always fought with each other.
Les fils se querellaient sans cesse entre eux.
They argued every day.
Ils se disputaient chaque jour.
The father was very sad.
Le père était très triste.
One day, the father called all his sons.
Un jour, le père appela tous ses fils.
He had a bundle of sticks tied together with rope.
Il avait un faisceau de bâtons liés ensemble par une corde.
"Try to break this bundle,"
« Essaie de briser ce fagot, »
the father said to his oldest son.
dit le père à son fils aîné.
The oldest son tried very hard.
Le fils aîné fit de grands efforts.
He could not break the bundle.
Il ne put briser le faisceau.
The sticks were too strong together.
Les bâtons étaient trop forts ensemble.
"You try,"
« Essaie, toi, »
the father said to his second son.
dit le père à son second fils.
The second son tried and tried.
Le second fils essaya encore et encore.
He could not break the bundle either.
Il ne put pas non plus briser le fagot.
All the sons tried to break the bundle.
Tous les fils tentèrent de briser le fagot.
No one could do it. Then the father untied the rope.
Personne n'y parvint. Alors le père délia la corde.
He gave each son one stick.
Il donna à chaque fils un bâton.
"Now try to break your stick,"
« Maintenant, essayez de casser votre bâton, »
he said.
dit-il.
Each son broke his stick easily.
Chaque fils brisa son bâton facilement.
The single sticks were very weak.
Les bâtons isolés étaient très fragiles.
The father looked at his sons.
Le père regarda ses fils.
"Do you understand?"
Comprenez-vous ?
he asked.
demanda-t-il.
"When you stay together, you are strong like the bundle."
« Quand vous restez unis, vous êtes forts comme le fagot. »
"When you fight and stay apart, you are weak like the single sticks."
"Quand vous vous disputez et restez séparés, vous êtes faibles comme les bâtons isolés."
The sons understood.
Les fils comprirent.
They stopped fighting.
Ils cessèrent de se battre.
They helped each other.
Ils s'entraidèrent.
Together, they were strong.
Ensemble, ils étaient forts.