中國二十四孝經(jīng)典民間故事03：曾參嚙指痛心(中英)

His Heart Was Pained When His Mother Bit Her Finger: Zeng Shen

中國二十四孝經(jīng)典民間故事03：曾參嚙

During the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history, there lived a student of Confucius, Zeng Shen, who become well-known for his filial attitude of respect.

曾參，字子輿，春秋時期魯國人，孔子的得意弟子，世稱“曾子”，以孝著稱。

His father passed away while Shen was still young.He was extremely respectful and obedient to his mother.

曾參從小喪父，他也非常尊重和順服他的母親。

Every day the young man would go into the mountains to cut firewood; his mother would stay home and weave cloth to sell. Mother and son had to work hard to earn enough to get by.

每天,曾參都會上山砍柴，母親則留在家里紡織。母子不得不這么努力的工作來養(yǎng)活自己。

One day Zeng Shen set out early for the mountains. A guest who had traveled a long distance arrived at the Zeng household that very morning.

一天，曾參提前上山砍柴，一個旅客跋山涉水，到了他家。

The family being poor, there was nothing with which to entertain the guest, and no way to properly welcome him.

家里特別窮，以至于他沒有辦法很好的招待客人。

As Zeng Shen was not at home, his mother did not know what to do, and she could only hope that her son would return soon from the mountains.

由于曾參沒在家，所以他母親根本不知道怎么做，她只有期待著兒子早點從上山回來。

The boy did not show up, and Mrs. Zeng grew agitated. Without realizing what she was doing, she put her finger into her mouth and bit it.

兒子沒回來，母親開始焦慮了。母親不知所措，就用牙咬自己的手指。

In her nervousness, she bit her finger so hard that it bled. Zeng Shen, in the mountains, suddenly felt a stinging pain in his heart, and knew there must be something amiss with his mother. He quickly bundled up the brush and kindling and ran back down the mountain.Arriving before his mother, he knelt in the doorway and asked her what was the matter.

因為緊張，所以手指頭被咬流血了。在山上的曾參忽然覺得心疼，知道母親在呼喚自己，便背著柴迅速返回家中，跪問緣故。

Relieved and happy, she said, "A guest has come and I was so upset that I bit my finger. You must be a truly respectful child that you can know your mother's thoughts from a distance!"

母親說：“有客人忽然到來，我咬手指盼你回來。”你是真正孝順的孩子，所以你會知道母親在遠方的心。