A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors agreed that they had no other recourse than to pray to God。

一艘客輪在海上遇到暴風雨而翻覆，只有兩個人游泳到一個荒涼的小島上。在無計可施的情況下，這兩個人都認為只有向上帝禱告是唯一之道。

However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island。

但是為了看誰的禱告比較有效，他們協議把小島分成兩半，每人各居一處。

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man’s parcel of land remained barren。

他們祈禱的第一件事就是食物，第二天早上，第一個人看到一棵結實累累的果樹長在他這一邊的土地上，現在他就有果子可以吃了。而另外一個人的土地上依舊一片荒蕪。

After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing。

一個星期以后，第一個人感到很孤單寂寞，所以他決定祈求能有一個妻子。第二天，又有一艘船失事了，唯一幸存的女人游泳到他這一邊的島上來。而另一邊的島上則什么也沒有。

Soon thereafter the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing。

不久，第一個人又祈求得到一間房子、衣服和更多的食物。隔天，他所祈求的東西就像變魔術一樣全都出現了，而另一個人還是什么都沒有。