英语绘本 ▏每日一读之《不食无主梨 Don't Eat Pears Without An Owner》

许衡自幼聪颖，喜欢独立思考。7岁入学堂上学。

Xu Heng was smart and liked to think independently since he was young. He went to school at the age of 7.

一天，下课后，许衡问:“老师，我们为什么读书?”

One day, after class, Xu Heng asked: "Teacher, why do we study?"

老师不假思索地说:“当然是为了当官，学而优则仕嘛!”

The teacher said without hesitation: "Of course it is to become an official. If you are good at studying, you will become an official!"

许衡又问:“难道读这么多书难道就只为了做官吗?”

Xu Heng asked again: "Is it true that you read so many books just to become an official?"

这下可把老师问住了，不知怎么回答才好，但他从心里佩服许衡善于思考的精神。

This question stumped the teacher, and he didn't know how to answer it, but he admired Xu Heng's thinking spirit from the bottom of his heart.

许衡上课认真听讲，遇到不明白的道理从来不放过，渐渐地积累的知识越来越丰富，提的问题也越来越深。

Xu Heng listened carefully in class, and never let go of the principles he didn't understand. Gradually, he accumulated more and more knowledge, and asked more and more profound questions.

不久，老师感到凭自己的文化水平很难满足许衡的求知欲。

Soon, the teacher felt that it was difficult to satisfy Xu Heng's thirst for knowledge with his own cultural level,

便对他的母亲说:“你的孩子长进很快，将来一定大有作为。我才疏学浅，很难当他老师了。请你另请高明的先生吧。”说完就辞职离去了。

So he said to his mother: "Your child is making great progress and will definitely achieve great things in the future. I am not talented and learned, so it is difficult for me to be his teacher. Please invite another wise teacher." After that, he resigned and left.

后来两位老师也因满足不了他的求知欲而相继辞职了。

Later, the two teachers also resigned one after another because they could not satisfy his thirst for knowledge. 

请不来老师，许衡就坚持自学，学业日渐精深。

Unable to invite a teacher, Xu Heng insisted on self-study, and his academic studies became more and more profound.

南宋末年，金国不断进犯中原，宋朝的老百姓为了躲避战乱，都离开了家园。

At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin Kingdom continued to invade the Central Plains. In order to avoid the war, the people of the Song Dynasty left their homes.

许衡也在一些逃难的人群中奔向河阳。这天，天气十分炎热，许衡因走得急，汗水湿透了衣衫，嘴里也像是冒了烟，喉咙都干哑了。

Xu Heng also ran to Heyang among some of the refugees. On this day, the weather was very hot. Xu Heng was in a hurry, and his sweat soaked his clothes. His mouth seemed to be smoking and his throat was hoarse.

同许衡一块走的七八个人与许衡一样都是口干舌燥，口渴难忍，但由于战乱，找不到一点水喝。

The seven or eight people who walked with Xu Heng were as thirsty as Xu Heng, but because of the war, they could not find any water to drink.

忽然，有人发现了一棵大大的梨树，树上挂满了黄澄澄的梨。

Suddenly, someone found a big pear tree, which was full of yellow pears. 

几个人一拥而上，爬上树，吃起梨来，只有许衡仍在一边看书。

Several people rushed up, climbed up the tree, and ate pears. Only Xu Heng was still reading a book.

同行的少年问他:“我看你也饥渴难耐，怎么不去摘几个梨吃?”

The young man who was traveling with him asked him: "I see you are also hungry and thirsty, why don't you pick some pears to eat?"

许衡说:“不是自家的梨，怎能随便摘下就吃呢?”

Xu Heng said: "If they are not my own pears, how can I just pick them and eat them?"

另一少年说:“这兵荒马乱的年月，人都没了影子，这梨还有什么主人?”

Another young man said: "In these chaotic years, no one has left, who can own these pears?"

许衡说:“梨现在是没主，但我们的心是有主的!越是在没有人监督的情况下，越是应该讲道德。你们翻墙入宅，私摘人家梨吃，哪像个有道德的读书人呢?”

Xu Heng said: "The pears have no owner now, but our hearts have! The more we are without supervision, the more we should talk about morality. You climbed over the wall and entered the house, picking pears from others to eat privately, how can you be a moral scholar?" 

许衡说完就独自上路了。

After saying this, Xu Heng set off alone.

许衡这种高尚的品德与他长期认真读书是分不开的。后来，许衡通过刻苦学习，成为元初着名的理学家。

Xu Heng's noble character is inseparable from his long-term serious study. Later, Xu Heng became a famous Neo-Confucianist in the early Yuan Dynasty through hard study.

这个故事告诉我们：一个人的美德表现在生活的每一个细节之中，它应该是一种良好习惯的坚持，而不是偶尔为之，拥有这种品质的人才是真正值得尊敬的人。

This story tells us: A person's virtue is reflected in every detail of life. It should be a persistence of good habits, not just occasional. People with this quality are truly respectable people.