不鞍之药
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2015-12-11 04:13 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
One day, Hui Zi met Zhuang Zi and told him this story: "King Hui bestowed1 upon me some bottle gourd2 seeds which I planted in the earth. Soon afterwards a big gourd which could hold 5 dan of rice really grew in the field. Never before have I seen such a big gourd, so I was very happy. But it couldn't solve any of my practical problems. I was so disappointed that I smashed it.
 
When Zhuang Zi heard this, he felt very sorry and said: "It's really a pity that you smashed such a good gourd so rashly."
 
Hui Zi couldn't wait for Zhuang Zi to finish to ask: "You feel it is a pity, then what would you use it for?"
 
Zhuang Zi calmly told Hui Zi a story: "There was a man in our State of Song who could make medicine for preventing chilblains. For generations his family bleached4 and washed cotton wadding for others for a living. Someone heard of this and visited their house. He was willing to pay 100 catties of gold to buy the secret prescription5 handed down from their ancestors. The whole family discussed this matter: `I think we had better sell it to him. We have bleached and washed for others for generations with pitiful income. If we sell the prescription now, we can get a large sum of money at once. We mustn't miss this opportunity!’Consequently, the whole family agreed to sell the prescription."
 
Zhuang Zi continued: "The man who got the prescription felt as if he had gotten 1,000 pieces of gold. He went to the King of Wu to sell his idea. At the time, the State of Yue invaded the State of Wu. The King of Wu sent the man to lead his troops into battle.
 
"It was winter then, and the weather was very cold. The armies of the State of Yue and the State of Wu fought on water. As the Wu army had this secret prescription, not a single soldier in the army suffered from frostbite of hands or feet. In the end, they totally vanquished6 the Yue army. For this, the King of Wu rewarded that man generously and offered him a high post.
 
"Some people use the medicine for preventing chilblains to get high posts and titles, while others only use it to bleach3 and wash cotton wadding for others. Why? This is because some people can put inferior timber to big use whereas others put fine timber only to petty use."
 
Zhuang Zi stopped at this point, thought for a while, then continued again: "Sir, you should also learn to utilize7 your large gourd. I think, instead of using the gourd as a ladle for water, it would be better to use it as a yao zhou (floating aid) to cross rivers and seas. Won't it be better than the present state?"
 
After hearing this, Hui Zi nodded repeatedly and admitted that Zhuang Zi was wiser than he. He said with a sigh: "It seems that I am a person with a muddled8 head after all."
 
一天,惠子见到庄子,讲了这样一件事:“惠王赐给我大葫芦的种子。我把它种在地里,不久,真的结了个很大的葫芦,恐怕装得下五石谷子。我也是第一次看到这么大的葫芦,高兴极了。但它却解决不了我一点儿实际问题,一气之下,我把它砸碎了。”
 
庄子听了,十分碗惜地说:“您这样轻易地把这么好的葫芦打碎了,实在是太可惜了。”
 
惠子不等庄子把话说完,抢着问道:“您觉得可惜,您想用它做什么呢?”
 
庄子心平气和地给惠子讲了一个故事:“我们宋国有一个人,会制作防止冻疮的药。他家祖祖辈辈靠给人漂洗棉絮为生。有人听说后就登门拜访,愿出百斤黄金买他家的祖传秘方。全家一道商量这件事:‘我看还是卖给他吧!咱们世世代代为人漂洗,收人少得可怜;现在如果能卖掉药方,一下子就能得到一大笔钱,不能错过这个机会啊!’于是,全家同意卖掉秘方。”
 
庄子接着说:“那个人得了秘方,像得了千金宝贝,就去游说吴王。这时,越国侵犯吴国,吴王便派他去带兵迎战。
 
“当时,正是冬天,天气十分寒冷。越、吴两军在水上交战。吴军因为有了这个秘方,全军上下没有一个人手脚冻裂,最后大破越军。为此,吴王大大奖赏了那个人,又封他做了大官。
 
“能防止手足冻裂的冻疮药,有的人用它来封官进爵;有的人则只能用来为人漂洗棉絮。这是为什么?这是因为有人小材大用,有人却大材小用的缘故。”
 
说到这儿,庄子停了下来,想了想又接着说:“先生,您也应该学会利用大葫芦呀!我以为用作瓢舀水,倒不如把它用作腰舟渡江河湖海,不是比现在更好吗?”
 
惠子听了连连点头,承认庄子比自己高明。他感叹说:“看来,我还是个心眼不开窍的人呀!”


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bestowed 12e1d67c73811aa19bdfe3ae4a8c2c28     
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
  • He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。
2 gourd mfWxh     
n.葫芦
参考例句:
  • Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去?你一定是疯了。
  • Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我,我好把水舀出去。
3 bleach Rtpz6     
vt.使漂白;vi.变白;n.漂白剂
参考例句:
  • These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
  • Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗?
4 bleached b1595af54bdf754969c26ad4e6cec237     
漂白的,晒白的,颜色变浅的
参考例句:
  • His hair was bleached by the sun . 他的头发被太阳晒得发白。
  • The sun has bleached her yellow skirt. 阳光把她的黄裙子晒得褪色了。
5 prescription u1vzA     
n.处方,开药;指示,规定
参考例句:
  • The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
  • The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。
6 vanquished 3ee1261b79910819d117f8022636243f     
v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 );战胜;克服;抑制
参考例句:
  • She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战,挫败过很多对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I vanquished her coldness with my assiduity. 我对她关心照顾从而消除了她的冷淡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
7 utilize OiPwz     
vt.使用,利用
参考例句:
  • The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
  • You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。
8 muddled cb3d0169d47a84e95c0dfa5c4d744221     
adj.混乱的;糊涂的;头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱,弄糟( muddle的过去式);使糊涂;对付,混日子
参考例句:
  • He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
  • I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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