Idioms in fables

Excessive enthusiasm will spoil things.

In the ancient Song Dynasty, a man was worried when he saw that the seedlings in his field were growing too slowly.

On this day, he simply went to the field and began to pull up the seedlings one by one. He came home exhausted and said to his family, "I'm exhausted today!" I let the seedlings grow a lot at once! "

Hearing this, his son hurried to the field to have a look. All the seedlings in the field have withered.

Moral: Everything has its own laws; Anyone who ignores the law will be punished.

People who would rather believe their size than their feet when buying shoes.

Once upon a time, there was a A Zheng man who wanted to buy a pair of shoes in the market. He first measured the length of his feet and made a ruler. But when he left, he accidentally left his ruler on the stool at home.

He went to the market and found a place to sell shoes. I was about to buy shoes when I found that I left my ruler at home. I said to the shoe seller, "I left my shoe size at home, so I will buy it when I get home." With that, he hurried home.

He ran home in a hurry, took a ruler and ran to the market in a panic. At this time, it was getting late and the market had already dispersed. He made two trips for nothing and didn't buy shoes.

Others know this, feel very strange, ask him; "Why don't you try on your shoes with your own feet instead of going home and getting a ruler?"

Zheng Guoren, who bought shoes, said, "I would rather trust a measured ruler than my feet."

Moral: People who stick to the rules and ignore the objective reality often do absurd things.

a battle between a snipe and clam

A clam is opening its two shells to bask in the sun, and a snipe flies over and sticks out its long mouth to peck at its meat. The clam suddenly closed its double shell and tightly clamped the snipe mouth.

The snipe said to the clam, "If it doesn't rain today, if it doesn't rain tomorrow, it will kill you!" "

The clam said to the snipe, "If I don't let you go today, if I don't let you go tomorrow, you will starve to death!" "

The two of them refused to give in and neither of them would let go. At this moment, an old fisherman came and caught them all at once.

Moral: Desperate and quarreling often lose both sides, and no one has a good result.

better late than never

Once upon a time, there was a man who kept a flock of sheep. One morning, he went out to herd sheep and found that one was missing. There was a hole in the sheepfold. At night, the wolf got into the hole and took the sheep away.

Neighbors advised him: "Hurry up and fix the sheepfold and plug that hole!"

He said, "Why build a sheepfold when all the sheep are lost?" Didn't take the neighbor's advice.

The next morning, he will go out to herd sheep. When he was looking in the sheepfold, he found another sheep missing. It turned out that the wolf got in from the hole again and took the sheep away.

He regretted not listening to his neighbor's advice, so he quickly blocked the hole and mended the sheepfold. Since then, his sheep have never been carried by wolves.

Note: if the sheep is lost, mend the sheepfold and the rest will not be lost again. If you make a mistake and correct it immediately, you can reduce it. If you make a mistake and take remedial measures in time, you can avoid greater losses.

to gild the lily

There was a man in Chu who engaged in sacrificial activities. After the sacrifice, take out a pot of wine and distribute it to the people.

When they saw that there was only one pot of wine, they agreed with each other: "This pot of wine is definitely not enough for several people to drink together; If you drink alone, you will have some left. We can draw a snake on the ground together. Whoever draws the snake first will have this pot of wine to drink. "

So, everyone found branches and tiles and quickly drew them on the ground.

A man first drew a snake and picked up the wine and was about to drink it. He found that no one else had finished painting, so he held a hip flask in one hand and painted in the other, proudly saying, "I can add some feet to the snake!" " "

Before he could draw the snake's foot, another person had finished drawing it. He grabbed the hip flask and said, "Snakes have no feet. How can you draw its feet? "

Then he raised his neck and gulped down the wine. The person who added feet to the snake stood by, staring at the lost opportunity to drink water.

Moral: If you use kung fu to do meaningless things, you will lose precious opportunities.

Some things change because of the change of environment.

Yan Zi will be sent to the State of Chu. When the King of Chu heard the news, he said to the ministers around him, "Yan Ying is an eloquent man in the State of Qi. Now that he has come to China, I want to humiliate him. What do you think? "

A minister made a suggestion and said, "When he comes, please tie a man and walk past the king. The king asked, "Where is he from?" Answer:' It belongs to the State of Chu. The king asked again, "What crime did he commit?" The answer is:' He committed theft.' "The king of Chu thought it was a good idea.

Yan Ying came to Chu, and the king of Chu entertained him with wine. The host and guests were in a good mood when two small officials came to the king of Chu with a bound man.

The king of Chu deliberately asked, "Who is bound here?"

"He's a Qi man," said the petty official. Because theft committed a crime. "

The king of Chu turned to look at Yan Ying and said, "Is Qi naturally fond of stealing?"

Yanzi left his seat to see the king of Chu. He replied, "I heard that oranges grow in the south of Huaihe River. If he grows north of Huaihe River, he will bear bitter oranges. The leaves of oranges and bitter oranges are similar, but the fruits taste different. Why is this? Because the soil and water are different. " The man caught now didn't steal when he lived in Qi, but stole when he arrived in Chu. Is it because the soil and water of Chu State are easy for people to be thieves? "

Hearing this, the king of Chu smiled awkwardly and said, "Sages are not easy to tease! Instead, I asked for trouble. "

Moral: The environment has a great influence on people. A good environment can make people learn well, and a bad environment can make people worse.

Frog living at the bottom of the well-depicting an ignorant man

A frog living in a shallow well boasted to a big turtle from the East China Sea, "I am so happy here! When you are happy, jump out of the well and climb onto the railing to have fun. When you are tired of playing, go back to the well, hide in the hole on the wall and rest comfortably. When I jumped into the water, the well water only submerged my armpit and gently held my chin; Mud just passed my foot, soft and comfortable. Look at the shrimps, crabs and tadpoles around. No one is as happy as I am. Besides, I own a well water and enjoy it to my heart's content. This kind of life is really beautiful. Why don't you come in and have a look! "

The giant turtle accepted the invitation of the well frog and was ready to go to the well to have a look, but its left foot had not stepped in, and its right leg had been caught by the railing by the well, so it had to slowly back off, stand by the well and tell the frog about the wonder of the sea: "How big is the sea?" Even using thousands of miles to describe it can't express its grandeur, and using a mountain as a metaphor can't compare with its depth. In the Yu Xia era, there were nine years of heavy rain and floods in ten years, and the sea level did not rise at all; When I was in Shang Tang, there were seven years of drought in eight years, the ground cracked and the coast didn't drop at all. It will not change because of the length of time, nor will it increase or decrease because of the amount of rainfall. Living in the East China Sea is really happy! "

Well frog listened, surprised for a long time and didn't speak. Only then did it know how small it lived.

Moral: If people confine themselves to a narrow world for a long time, they will become short-sighted and complacent.

Work as skillfully as a skilled butcher cuts the carcass of a cow-do sth very skillfully/professionally.

My master is Liang Zainiu. When you reach out, lean on your shoulders, step on your knees, the sound is very harmonious, just like beautiful music, which is in line with the melody of Yao Shi's Jing Shou. That movement is also very rhythmic, just like the beautiful dance of Sanglin.

When King Hui of Liang saw God, he praised him and said, "Ha, good! How did your technology reach such a superb level? "

My master put down his knife and said to Liang, "What I like to explore is a way that goes further than ordinary technology. When I started dissecting a cow, I saw a whole cow. I don't know the internal structure of the cow's body, and I don't know where to start. Three years later, what I saw was the gap between the bones of the cow, not the whole cow. Today, I kill cattle by feeling, and I don't need to look with my eyes to know how to use the knife. The organizational structure of cattle is regular. Where I enter the knife, there are gaps between the muscles and bones, and I never touch the bones of cattle, let alone the big bones. A skilled cook has to change a knife every year because he cuts it with a knife. The average chef changes a knife every month because he cuts it with a knife. The knife I used to kill cattle has been used for 19 years; Thousands of cows have been slaughtered, but the blade is still as sharp as if it had just been sharpened on a millstone. Why is this? It is because there are gaps between the organizational structures of cattle. Compared with these gaps, the blade is as thin as if there is no thickness at all. It is certainly more than enough to run between tissues with gaps with a knife without thickness! So 19 years later, my knife is as good as new. Although my skill has reached this level, I still dare not be careless when dissecting a cow. I'm always careful and absorbed. There is no hurry or too much force when entering the knife. The cow was untied, and the beef slipped from the skeleton to the ground, like a beach of soil. " At this moment, I just breathed a sigh of relief, stood with a knife in my hand, looked around, cleaned it satisfactorily and put it away.

Liang Huiwang listened and said happily, "Great. After listening to your words, I understand the truth of self-cultivation. "

Moral: Everything in the world has its own laws. Only when you master the laws of things can you succeed in doing things.

Children's debate day

Confucius went to the East to lobby. On the way, he met two children arguing, so he came forward and asked, "What are you arguing about?"

A child said, "I think the sun was close to people when it first came out, but at noon, the sun was far away from us."

Confucius asked with interest, "Can you tell me your reasons?"

A child said, "When the sun just came out, it was as big as the roof of a car;" At noon, it is only the size of a plate and a bowl. Doesn't this mean that people who are far away from us look small and people who are close to us look big? "

Another child said, "When the sun first came out, it was a little cold.": At noon, it was as hot as boiling soup. Doesn't that mean that people far away from us feel cold and people close to us feel hot? "

After listening to their words, Confucius couldn't tell who was right or wrong for a moment.

The two children smiled and said, "Who says you have much knowledge?"

Moral: There is no end to knowledge. Even a knowledgeable person has many things he doesn't understand.

Song people suspected their neighbors.

There was a rich man in the state of Song. One day, the heavy rain washed away the wall of his house. His son said, "If you don't fix it quickly, thieves will climb in." The old man next door warned him the same way.

That night, his house was really stolen by thieves.

The rich man's family praised his son for his foresight, but suspected that the old man next door might be a thief.

Han Fei's "Han Feizi said South"

Moral: It is very harmful to judge right and wrong by intimacy. Some misunderstandings and grievances in life come from this.

Waiting for exemption

There was a farmer in Song State. There is a tree in his field.

Once, a rabbit came running. Because it ran too fast, it hit a tree, broke its neck and died. The man found the free child easily.

From that day on, he simply put down his farm tools, even quit his job and stayed under this tree every day, hoping to find the dead rabbit.

The rabbit can no longer be detected, but his behavior has become a joke of the Song people.

Moral: Harvest comes from labor. Don't give up the virtue of hard work because of an accidental harvest.

Swallow dates-Absorb information without digesting it

A guest said, "Eating pears is good for your teeth, but bad for your spleen." : Eating dates is good for the spleen, but bad for the teeth. "

After listening to this, a stupid young man thought for a long time and said, "I have a good idea: when eating pears, just chew them, not swallow them, so as not to damage my spleen;" When I eat jujube, I swallow it without chewing, so it won't hurt my teeth. "

People who like to joke say, "You really swallowed the dates!" "

Everyone laughed their heads off when they heard this.

Zhan Yuan's Calm Words

Moral: Most things in the world have advantages and disadvantages. There must be appropriate methods to promote advantages and eliminate disadvantages. Paradoxically, swallowing dates can only make people laugh.

Try to drive the chariot north to the south-act against your intentions.

Wang Wei will attack Handan. When Liang Ji, who was on an overseas mission, heard about it, he came back soon. Before the wrinkles on his clothes were sorted out and the dirt on his face was washed, he hurried to see Wang Wei and said, "This time I came back from other places and met a man at the foot of Taihang Mountain. He sat in a carriage, facing north, and told me that he was going to Chu.

I said to him,' You are going to Chu, which is in the south. "Why do you face north?"

He said, "My horse is fine."

I said,' Your horse is good, but this is not the way to Chu!'

He added, "My fare is enough."

I said to him,' Although your travelling expenses are high, this is not the way to Chu!'

He also said that the person driving my car is very capable.

He doesn't know that the direction is wrong. The better the travel conditions, the farther away from Chu. Now the king always wants to dominate the princes, and everything he does wants to win the trust of the world. Relying on a powerful country and an elite army, he attacked Handan in order to expand his territory and improve his prestige. Don't you know that the more you do this, the farther away you are from the goal of unifying the world as king, which is like going north to Chu! "

Moral: To be a man and do things, we must have the right direction. The wrong direction, the better the conditions, the greater the effort, and the farther away from the goal you want to achieve.

Buy the box, but return the pearls.

A Chu man went to Zheng State to sell pearls. In order to get a good price, he made a very delicate box for Zhu Bao with precious magnolia wood, and sprinkled precious spices such as cinnamon and pepper in the box. In addition, he tied many pearls and jade to the box and decorated it with roses and emeralds.

A A Zheng man saw that the box was very beautiful, so he bought it and returned the jewels to the Chu people.

Moral: A person with low literacy and lack of discrimination often throws away things of real value and treats those things of low value as treasures.

Unnecessary worry

There was a man in the state of Qi who was worried all day that the sky would fall, and he had no place to live, could not sleep and could not eat.

A man saw that he was so sad and worried about him, so he went to enlighten him and said, "The sky is just a thick accumulation of gas, and there is no place where there is no gas." Your every move, breath and breath from morning till night live in the center of the sky. Why worry about the sky falling? "

Hearing this, the man who is worried about heaven said again; "If the weather is thick, won't the sun, moon and stars fall?" .

The person who came to enlighten me said, "The sun, the moon and the stars are all made up of luminous gases. Even if it falls, it is impossible to hurt people. "

The anxious person asked again, "What if the ground collapses?"

The person who enlightened him replied, "The earth is made of clods. It is full of all fields and everywhere. You can just walk and jump on it and live on it all day. How can you worry that it will collapse? "

The man was relieved and very happy after listening to his friend's words. The person who came to persuade him was relieved and happy.

Moral: As long as you tell the truth thoroughly, you can help people relieve their worries and troubles.

Stealing a clock to plug your ears-deceiving yourself.

When Zhi Bo destroyed Fan, a man took the opportunity to steal a bell and prepared to run away with it. However, this clock is too big to carry back. He intends to smash it with a hammer before carrying it back.

Who knows, as soon as it was smashed, the bell made a loud noise. He was afraid that others would take it away when they heard the bell, so he quickly covered his ears tightly.

Fear of others hearing the sound of the clock is understandable; But it's too confusing to cover your ears and think that others can't hear you.

Moral: People who feel guilty can deceive themselves, but not others.

Jiufang gaoxiangma

Bole is a master at identifying horses. However, he is old and exhausted.

One day, Qin Mugong said to Bole, "You are old. Can you send your descendants to find a swift horse?"

Bole said: "A good horse can be seen from its figure, appearance and skeleton. There seems to be no fixed standard for finding that special swift horse in the world, and it can't be expressed in words. Such a horse gallops, with light footsteps, and its hooves don't raise dust, so it is so fast that it seems invisible. My sons are all inferior talents. They can tell what a good horse is, but they can't tell what a swift horse is. I have a friend named Jiufanggao, who sells firewood and vegetables, and his flattery ability is not under me. Please let me recommend him to you. "

Mu Gong summoned Jiu Gaofang and sent him to look for Maxima. Three months later, Jiufanggao came back and reported: "Found it, in that sand dune place."

Mu Gong quickly asked, "What kind of horse is it?"

Jiu Gaofang replied, "It's a yellow mare."

Someone was sent to lead the horse, but it was a black stallion. Mu Gong was very unhappy and called Bole and said, "It's terrible! The person you recommend looking for a horse doesn't even know the color and sex of the horse. How can he tell which horse is the swift horse in the world? "

Bole said with emotion, "The reason why the nine parties are so arrogant is that he is ten million times better than me. Q 9 saw it, and that's the secret! He pays attention to observing the spirit and ignores the appearance; Pay attention to its internal quality, but ignore its color and gender; Only see what he needs to see and ignore what he doesn't need to see; Observe only what he needs to observe and ignore what he doesn't need to observe. A horse like him is more precious than a good horse! "

The horse is here. It is really a rare swift horse in the world.

Moral: To truly understand a thing, we must grasp the essence through the phenomenon.

Don't pay attention to facts based on people's casual views on things.

Once upon a time, a countryman lost an axe. He suspected that the neighbor's son stole it, and observed the way the man walked, like stealing an axe; Look at the man's face and expression, it's like stealing an axe; Listening to him is more like an axe thief. The man's words and deeds are like an axe thief.

Later, when the man who lost his axe was digging in the valley, he dug it out. Then he looked at his neighbor's son carefully and didn't walk like an axe thief. He doesn't look like an axe thief; His words and deeds are even less like an axe thief, and that man's words and deeds are not like an axe thief.

Moral: Don't doubt people casually. If you are too suspicious, good people will be regarded as bad people.

Blinded by greed

There was a man in the state of Qi who was bent on getting gold. One day, he got up early in the morning, put on his clothes and hat, and went to the place where gold was sold. When he saw someone holding gold, he reached for it.

The official caught him, tied him up and asked, "With so many people here, why did you openly rob others of their gold?"

He replied, "I didn't see anyone. I only have gold in my eyes. "

Lu Chunqiu: Heaven

Moral: People who are greedy for money often lose their minds and do stupid things.

Panic about the shadow of the bow in the cup-fear of the shadow

Leguang has a close guest whom I haven't seen for a long time.

Once, Yue Guang met him and asked him why.

The guest replied, "Last time I was a guest at your house, you were very kind and gave me a drink." I picked up the cup and was about to drink it when I found a snake in it. I felt sick after drinking it. "

Le Guang recalled that there was a bow hanging on the wall of the hall where the Henan county government hosted guests, and a colorful snake was painted on the bow. The snake in the guest's cup is probably the shadow of this bow!

So, he put the wine in the place where he served the guests last time and let the guests sit where he sat last time. Then ask the guest, "Do you see anything in your wine?"

The guest looked at the glass and replied, "Like last time, there was a snake in the wine."

Le Guang pointed to the bow on the wall and told the guests the truth. The guest understood at once, and cured the incurable disease for a long time, and it was all right at once.

The Book of Jin Yue Guang Chuan

Moral: "Heart disease should be treated with heart medicine". The best way to dispel doubts is to tell the truth.

As long as you make up your mind and work hard, no matter how difficult it is, you can succeed.

Li Bai didn't study very hard when he was a child, so he ran away without finishing his studies.

On the way, he met a white-haired old woman, sitting by the river, grinding an iron bar with a thick bowl. He was very surprised, so he went up to him and asked, "What are you doing, old woman?"

The old woman wiped the sweat on her face and said, "I want to grind it into an embroidery needle."

Li Bai felt very funny and said, "When can you grind such a thick iron bar into a needle?"

The old woman said confidently, "As long as you get home, you will naturally succeed."

Li Bai was very moved after hearing this. So, he immediately went back to continue his studies, finally finished his studies and became a famous great poet.

Moral: To accomplish something, you must have perseverance and perseverance.

contradictory

A Chu man went to the street to sell spears and shields. In order to attract customers, he raised his shield and boasted, "My shield is so strong that no weapon can pierce it!" "

He put down his shield, raised his spear and boasted, "My spear is extremely sharp, so I can put it on whenever I stab anything!" " "

At this time, someone asked him, "What will happen if you stab your shield with your spear?"

The Chu man couldn't answer a word.

Moral: exaggerating the advantages of things that are divorced from reality often leads to contradictory jokes.

Mourn your own smallness in front of the vast sea-bemoan your own smallness in front of great things

When autumn comes, it rains heavily and countless small streams flow into the Yellow River. I saw that the waves were rough and the river surged, flooding the sandbar in the middle of the river and flooding the depression on the shore. The river suddenly widened, and even the cattle and horses on the other side of the river could not be distinguished from each other.

What a spectacular sight! Hebo couldn't help feeling smug when he thought that all the water in the world had come to him. He walked eastward with the running water, enjoying the waterscape as he walked.

He came to the North Sea and looked east. He was not surprised, but when he saw the connection between water and the sky, he didn't know where the end of the water was.

Hebo looked at it blankly for a while, then turned to the sea and said, "As the saying goes,' People who know the truth think they are better than anyone else'." That's who I am! "

Moral: no mountains, no flat land; Without the sea, there is no flow. There is a mountain outside the mountain, and there is a sky outside. Each of us is actually very small.