孔融让梨
Kong Rong and the pears: the boy who took the smallest one
Name: ________________ Date: ________
一千八百多年前，有一个小男孩，叫孔融。他家一共有七个兄弟，他排第六：上面有五个哥哥，下面还有一个弟弟。
孔融四岁那年，有一次家里人坐在一起吃梨。一盘梨放到桌子上，有大的，也有小的。
哥哥们都拿了大的。轮到孔融了，他伸出小手，没有拿大的，也没有拿好看的，而是拿了一个最小的。
大人们觉得很奇怪，问他：“你为什么拿最小的？”
孔融认真地回答：“我是小孩子，就应该拿小的。”
大人们听了，都很喜欢他。这件事越传越远。在后来很多人讲的故事里，孔融还多说了一句：“我是哥哥，也应该让着弟弟。”
从宋朝开始，很多孩子上学都要读《三字经》，里面就有这样一句话：“融四岁，能让梨。”孔融长大以后，成了很有名的文人。对了，他还是孔子的第二十代孙子。
今天，“孔融让梨”说的是懂事、知道让着别人。中国的爸爸妈妈常常对孩子说：“你是哥哥，学学孔融让梨，把大的给妹妹吧。”
当然，也有孩子会说：“我们家只有我一个孩子，所以，大的小的都是我的！”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上面 | shàngmiàn | above; on top of; on the surface of |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 拿 | ná | to take; to hold; to carry |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant |
| 里面 | lǐmiàn | inside; interior |
| 这样 | zhèyàng | like this; this way |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place |
| 奇怪 | qíguài | strange; odd; weird |
| 认真 | rènzhēn | conscientious; earnest; serious; to take seriously |
| 回答 | huídá | to answer; to reply; answer; reply |
| 后来 | hòulái | afterwards; later |
| 讲 | jiǎng | to speak; to say; to tell |
English (for the teacher)
More than eighteen hundred years ago, there was a little boy called Kong Rong. There were seven brothers in his family and he was the sixth: five older brothers above him and one younger brother below.
The year Kong Rong was four, the family once sat down together to eat pears. A plate of pears was put on the table, some big and some small.
His older brothers all took big ones. When it was Kong Rong’s turn, he reached out his little hand and took neither a big one nor a nice-looking one, but the very smallest.
The adults found this odd and asked him, “Why did you take the smallest one?”
Kong Rong answered seriously, “I’m a little kid, so I should take a little one.”
The adults loved him for it. Word of it spread further and further. In the versions many people told later, Kong Rong says one more thing: “And I’m an older brother, so I should let my little brother go first.”
From the Song dynasty on, many children read the Three Character Classic at school, and it contains the line: “Rong, at four, could give up the pears.” When Kong Rong grew up, he became a famous scholar. Oh, and he was also a twentieth-generation descendant of Confucius.
Today 孔融让梨, “Kong Rong gives up the pears”, is about being thoughtful and letting others go first. Chinese parents often tell their kids, “You’re the big brother. Be like Kong Rong and give the big one to your little sister.”
Of course, some kids will say, “I’m the only child in our family, so the big ones and the small ones are all mine!”