【大纪元6月15日讯】
曾子是孔子的弟子，他以孝道见称。
有一天，他的妻子要赶往市场，儿子也想跟着去，于是她便哄哄孩子说：“妈妈很快就回来。等我回来时，就杀猪给你吃。”
当她从市场回来时，曾子把刀磨好，准备杀猪。
妻子连忙阻止他说：“不要当真！刚才我只不过是哄哄孩子吧。”
曾子忙把妻子拉住一边说：“即使和小孩说话，也要守信用。小孩什么都不懂，一切都跟父母学习，并听从父母的教导。你现在欺骗他，就是教他欺骗人。一旦骗过他后，他以后就不会相信你了。这不是教导小孩的正确方法。”
曾子说完，就把猪杀掉，拿去烹煮。
Keeping One’s Word
Zeng Zi was Confucius’s disciple. He was widely known for his filial obedience.
One time his wife had to go to the market in a hurry. Her child wanted to go along and clung fast to her.
“Listen to me,” she coaxed the little boy. “I shan’t be long. When I get back, I’ll kill the pig for dinner.”
When she returned home, Zeng Zi sharpened his knife and set about to kill the pig.
His wife immediately stopped him saying, “Don’t take it seriously! I was just coaxing the child.”
Zeng Zi quickly drew his wife aside. “We must keep our word even with little children,” he said. “Children don’t know much. They learn from their parents and listen to what their parents teach them.”
“If you lie to him now, you’re teaching him to lie later. And once you’ve lied to him, he will never believe you again. This is not the proper way to teach a child.”
Having said this, he killed the pig for dinner.
转自：《翀仔寓言网》@
(http://www.dajiyuan.com)
