愚公移山
The foolish old man who moved the mountains
Name: ________________ Date: ________
很久很久以前，有两座大山，一座叫太行山，一座叫王屋山。这两座山又大又高。
山的北边住着一个老人，大家叫他愚公，意思是“笨老头”。愚公快九十岁了，他家的大门正对着这两座山。每次出门，都要走很远很远的路。
有一天，愚公把全家人叫到一起，说：“我们一起把这两座山搬走，好不好？”家里人都说：“好！”
只有他的老伴不太相信：“你连一座小土山都搬不动，这么大的山怎么搬？挖出来的土和石头，又放到哪儿去？”大家说：“放到渤海边上去！”
就这样，愚公带着儿子和孙子，开始挖山。邻居家有个七八岁的小男孩，也高高兴兴地来帮忙。从冬天到夏天，他们才回了一次家。
河边住着一个聪明的老头，名字叫智叟。他笑着对愚公说：“你也太笨了吧！你都这么大年纪了，山上的一根草，你都动不了，还想搬山？”
愚公说：“我看你才笨呢！我死了，还有儿子；儿子又生孙子，孙子又生儿子……子子孙孙，没有完的时候。可是山不会再长高，为什么搬不完？”
智叟一句话也说不出来了。
山里的神听说了，有点儿害怕：这家人真的会一直挖下去！他马上去告诉天帝。天帝很感动，就让两个力气很大的神把两座山背走了。从此，愚公家门口再也没有大山了。
今天，“愚公移山”说的是：只要不放弃，再难的事也能做成。比如：“学中文有点儿像愚公移山，每天学一点儿，总有一天能学好。”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 久 | jiǔ | long (time) |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
| 山 | shān | mountain; hill |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old person; the elderly |
| 相信 | xiāngxìn | to believe; to trust |
| 搬 | bān | to move; to carry (something heavy) |
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place |
| 邻居 | línjū | neighbor |
| 冬天 | dōngtiān | winter |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
| 聪明 | cōngming | clever; smart; intelligent |
| 草 | cǎo | grass; straw |
English (for the teacher)
A long, long time ago, there were two great mountains, one called Mount Taihang and one called Mount Wangwu. They were both huge and high.
North of the mountains lived an old man whom everyone called Yugong, which means “the foolish old man”. Yugong was nearly ninety, and his front gate looked straight out at the two mountains. Every time he went out, he had to go a very, very long way round.
One day Yugong called the whole family together and said, “Let’s move these two mountains out of the way together. What do you say?” The family all said, “Yes!”
Only his old wife wasn’t so sure: “You can’t even move a little hill of earth. How are you going to move mountains this big? And where will you put all the earth and stones you dig out?” Everyone said, “On the shore of the Bohai Sea!”
And so Yugong set to digging the mountain with his sons and grandsons. A boy of seven or eight from next door came skipping along happily to help too. From winter to summer, they only got home once.
By the river lived a clever old man called Zhisou, “the wise old man”. He laughed and said to Yugong, “You really are a fool! At your age you couldn’t even shift one blade of grass on that mountain, and you want to move the mountain?”
Yugong said, “If you ask me, you’re the fool! When I die, I’ll still have sons; my sons will have grandsons, and the grandsons will have sons… Sons and grandsons, on and on, with no end. But the mountains won’t get any taller. Why couldn’t we finish moving them?”
Zhisou couldn’t say a single word.
When the god of the mountains heard about this, he got a bit worried: this family really will keep digging forever! He hurried off to tell the Lord of Heaven. The Lord of Heaven was so moved that he sent two enormously strong gods to carry the two mountains away on their backs. From then on, there were no more mountains outside Yugong’s door.
Today 愚公移山, “the foolish old man moves the mountains”, means that as long as you don’t give up, even the hardest thing can be done. For example: “Learning Chinese is a bit like the foolish old man moving mountains. Learn a little every day, and one day you’ll get there.”