古代成語故事雙語版兩則

　　完璧歸趙

He Shi Presents a Piece of Jade和氏獻璧

One day, a man named He Shi of the State of Chu got a piece of uncarved jade in a hill. He quickly went to present it to King Li of the State of Chu. King Li asked a jade craftsman to appraise it. The jade craftsman said:

一天，有個名叫“和氏”的楚國人，在一座山裏得到一塊沒有雕琢過的玉石，連忙拿去獻給楚厲王。厲王叫玉匠鑑定，玉匠說:

"This is a piece of ordinary stone."

“這是一塊普通的石頭。”

King Li believed that He Shi had deceived him and felt very angry. He had He Shi's left foot cut off.

厲王認爲和氏欺騙了他，非常氣憤，就砍掉了和氏的左腳。

After King Li died, King Wu became the king. Again He Shi took this piece of jade to present it to King Wu. King Wu asked a jade craftsman to appraise it. The jade craftsman also said:

厲王死後，武王當了國王。和氏又拿着這塊玉石去獻給武王。武王叫玉匠鑑定，玉匠說:

"This is a piece of ordinary stone."

“這是一塊普通的石頭。”

King Wu believed that He Shi had deceived him and had He Shi's right foot cut off.

武王認爲和氏欺騙了他，就砍掉了他的右腳。

After King Wu died, King Wen succeeded to the throne. He Shi sat at the foot of the hill, held the piece of jade in his hands and wept. He wept for three days and three nights until his tears dried up and his eyes bled. When King Wen heard of this, he sent someone to ask He Shi:

武王死後，文王當了國王。和氏抱着那塊玉石，坐在那座山的山腳下哭泣，一連哭了三天三夜，哭幹了眼淚，連血都哭出來了。文王聽說後，就派人去問和氏:

"Many people in the world have had their feet cut off. Why do you weep so broken-heartedly?"

“天下被砍去腳的人很多，你爲什麼哭得這樣傷心呢?”

He Shi answered:

和氏回答說:

"I am not weeping for losing both my feet. I am broken-hearted because the King takes the jade for a piece of stone, and my loyalty for deceit."

“我不是因爲失去雙腳而哭泣，而是因爲國王把寶石當做石頭，把忠誠說成欺騙，所以才這樣傷心。”

After King Wen heard this, he sent for a jade craftsman and ordered him to chisel open the jade. Sure enough it was a piece of genuine jade. Thus King Wen of Chu named it "He Shi Jade".

文王聽了和氏的話後，就派人把玉匠找來，命令玉匠把玉石鑿開，一看果然是一塊真的玉石。楚文王就把這塊玉石命名爲“和氏璧”。

　　視石爲寶

In ancient times, a man of the State of Song picked up a stone in Linzi. He examined it over and over and regarded it as a treasure. He quickly took it home, wrapped it up in dozens of silk layers, then put it in a leather box. But he still felt uneasy, so he covered the box with dozens of boxes.

古代，宋國有個人在臨淄拾到了一塊石頭。他左看右看，認爲這是一件寶貝，急忙拿回家去，用絲絹包了起來。包了一層又一層，一連包了幾十層，才把它放進皮匣子。但是，他還不放心，在匣子外面又套上匣子，一連套了幾十只。

When a man who could identify treasures heard of this, he went at once to this man and asked to have a look at the treasure.

有個識寶的人，一聽到這個消息，就馬上到他那裏，請求看一看這件寶貝。

To be prudent, this man of Song took a bath, burned incense, cleansed his mind, calmed his mood, and went in for self- cultivation for seven days. Then be put on ceremonial robes, respectfully took out the box, and carefully took the stone out of the box.

那個宋國人，爲了慎重起見，薰香沐浴，清心靜氣，修養了七天，然後穿上大禮服，恭恭敬敬地請出匣子，小心翼翼地把那塊石頭從匣子裏取出來。

When the man who knew about treasures saw it, he nearly burst into laughter, but quickly covered his mouth with his hand. He whispered close to the other's ear:"This is a piece of stone, as worthless as a tile."

那個識寶的人看了，差一點兒笑出聲來，連忙用手捂住了嘴巴，貼近他的耳朵，輕輕地告訴他說:“這是一塊石頭，跟瓦片一樣一錢不值!”

The man of Song thought the man who knew about treasures was envious of him and trying to cheat him. Much displeased, he said:

宋國人認爲這個識寶的人嫉妒他，在騙他，心裏很不高興，他說:

"Merchants always say others' wares are worthless, and doctors always say patients' illnesses are very serious, so that they themselves can make more money. I will not be fooled!"

“做生意的人，總是把別人的貨色說得一錢不值;做醫生的人，總是把病人的毛病說得非常危險。這都是爲了自己可以多賺幾個錢。我可不上這個當!”