In Sunday school, the minister was trying to illustrate¹ the word miracle². "Boys and girls," he said, "suppose I stood on the roof of a ten-story building, lost my balance and fell off. Then all of a sudden³ in midair, a whirlwind swept me up and brought me safely to the ground. Now what word would you use to describe this?"

After a long silence a boy raised his hand and said, "Luck?"

"True, ture," replied the minister. "It could be luck - but that's not the word I wanted. I'll repeat the story. There I am on top of the ten-story building again, and I fall. A whirlwind catches me in midair and places me safely on the ground. Think now - what word would decribe the situation?"

"Accident," cried out one girl.

"No, no," answered the minister. "Listen carefully for the third time. I'm on the same building; I fall and am swept to safety by a sudden whirlwind. What word could account⁴ for my safely reaching the ground?"

The boys and girls shouted in unison:"Practice!"

在主日学校里，牧师正举例说明“奇迹”一词的意义。“孩子们，”他说：“假如我站在一座十层高的楼顶上，失去平衡掉了下来。在跌落到半空中时，突然刮来一阵旋风，把我举起来，使我安全着陆。想想看，该用什么词来描绘这件事？”

很长时间没有回答。后来一个男孩举手说：“运气”

“好吧，好吧，”牧师回答说：“可以说是运气，不过那不是我想要的词。我再讲一遍这个故事。我还是在一座十层高的楼顶上，从上面摔下来。一阵旋风在半空中把我托住，使我安全返回地面。好好想一下，该用什么词来描绘这一情景呢？”

“意外，”有个女孩大声说。

“不对，不对，”牧师说：“你们仔细听，再听一遍。我还是在那座楼顶上，摔下来时被一阵突然刮来的旋风托住，转危为安。用什么词来解释我安全返回地面这事？”

孩子们齐声叫道：“反复练习！”