拔苗助長的故事

Long ago, in the land of Song, there lived a farmer. One spring, he planted a field of little green plants. They stood in neat rows, like tiny soldiers.

Every morning, the farmer ran to his field. He measured the plants with his finger. "Hmm. The same as yesterday," he said. The next day, he measured them again. "Still the same!"

Day after day, the plants did not seem to grow. The farmer could not eat. He could not sleep. "My plants are too slow," he thought. "I must help them."

Then he had an idea. "I will pull them up a little. Then they will be taller!"

Early the next morning, he went to the field. He held a plant and pulled it up a little. It looked taller! He pulled the next plant, and the next, and the next. He worked all day, until the moon came up.

He walked home slowly. "Oh, my back hurts!" he told his family. "But I helped our plants grow. Now they are tall!"

His son was worried. He took a lamp and ran to the field. The plants were bending over. Their leaves were soft and weak. The next day the sun came out, and all the plants dried up.

Their roots were loose and out of the soil. They could not drink any water. The farmer sat by his field. He was very sad.

The next spring, the farmer planted again. This time, he did not pull. He gave the plants water, took out the weeds and waited. Slowly, slowly, the plants grew tall. In autumn, his field was full of grain.