B A lark, says an old fable, built its nest on the ground in a cornfield, and raised its young amidst the growing corn. When the corn was ripe, the little ones in a great fright told the motherbird they had heard the farmer say that he was going to ask his neighbor to come and harvest his corn for him. But the wise bird was not at all disturbed and said: “If that is all, we need not be in a hurry to go yet. ”But when soon after they came and told her that the farmer said that, as the neighbor had not come, he was going to cut the corn himself, the lark said “Now it is time for us to go,” and flew away with the young ones. The moral of this story is: “If you want a thing done, do it yourself.” This is the lesson of selfreliance, which is the opposite of dependence on others. Of course a certain amount of dependence on others is not only good, but necessary. Children must be dependent on their parents; and the weak must depend on the strong, and the sick on the well. And in a sense, all of us, even the most independent and selfreliant, are dependent on one another. At any rate, in civilized society, it is impossible for anyone to make all the things he needs. So in a community everyone is dependent on the service of others, while he himself contributes to the needs of others. But, so long as we are doing our fair share, we are not dependants; for mutual help and cooperation is quite consistent with individual independence and selfreliance. The contemptible(可鄙的) dependence on others, which is the opposite of selfreliance, is the depending on others for the goods and services which we could and should provide for ourselves. This kind of dependence may be due to laziness, or lack of confidence. True selfreliance means knowledge of ones own powers, a reasonable selfconfidence, and a determination to be independent and to stand on ones own feet. It is well expressed in Longfellows Village Blacksmith. The second paragraph of the passage is mainly about.