This Chinese fable tells the tale of an impatient farmer who learned the hard way that some things just can’t be rushed.
从前，有个农夫种了一块田。他每天都去田里看自己的禾苗，觉得禾苗长得太慢了，心里非常着急。
他想：”有没有什么办法能让禾苗长得快一点呢？”
想啊想，终于想出了一个”好办法“。他跑到田里，把每一棵禾苗都用手往上拔高了一截。
他从早忙到晚，累得筋疲力尽，但心里却非常高兴。回到家后，他得意地对家人说：”今天可把我累坏了！不过总算帮禾苗长高了不少，值得！”
他的儿子听了，觉得奇怪，第二天一早跑到田里一看——所有的禾苗都枯死了。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 禾苗 | hé miáo | seedling; young crop |
| 着急 | zháo jí | anxious; worried |
| 办法 | bàn fǎ | method; way; solution |
| 拔高 | bá gāo | to pull up; to raise |
| 筋疲力尽 | jīn pí lì jìn | exhausted; worn out |
| 得意 | dé yì | proud; pleased with oneself |
| 枯死 | kū sǐ | to wither and die |
| 从前 | cóng qián | previously; formerly; once upon a time |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 农夫 | nóng fū | peasant; farmer |
| 种 | zhǒng | seed; species; kind; type; classifier for types, kinds, sorts |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 一块 | yī kuài | a piece; a chunk; (fig.) (coll.) (typically preceded by a specifier such as 這|这[zhe4]) aspect; area; dimension (Example: 情感這一塊|情感这一块[qing2 gan3 zhe4 yi1 kuai4] "the emotional aspec… |
| 田 | Tián | surname Tian |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 长得 | zhǎng de | to look (pretty, the same etc) |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 有没有 | yǒu méi yǒu | (before a noun) Do (you, they etc) have ...?; Is there a ...?; (before a verb) Did (you, they etc) (verb, infinitive)?; Have (you, they etc) (verb, past participle)? |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 一点 | yī diǎn | a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr… |
| 呢 | ne | (sentence-final particle) used in questions to link back to prior discourse or context ("what about...?", "and...?"); (sentence-final particle) indicating that a state or situation… |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 想出 | xiǎng chū | to figure out; to work out (a solution etc); to think up; to come up with (an idea etc) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 好办 | hǎo bàn | easy to do; easy to manage |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 每 | měi | each; every |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 棵 | kē | classifier for trees, cabbages, plants etc |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 往 | wǎng | to go (in a direction); to; towards; (of a train) bound for; past; previous; old variant of 往[wang3] |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 截 | jiē | to cut off (a length); to intercept; chunk |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 早 | zǎo | early; morning; Good morning!; long ago; prematurely |
| 忙 | máng | busy; hurriedly; to hurry; to rush |
| 晚 | wǎn | evening; night; late |
| 累 | lěi | to accumulate; to involve or implicate (Taiwan pr. [lei4]); continuous; repeated; rope; to bind together; to twist around |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 高兴 | gāo xìng | happy; glad; willing (to do sth); in a cheerful mood |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 对家 | duì jiā | partner (in four person game); family of proposed marriage partner |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 说 | shuì | to persuade; variant of 說|说[shuo1] |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 累坏 | lèi huài | to become exhausted |
| 不过 | bù guò | only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival) |
| 总 | zǒng | (bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理|总经理[zong3… |
| 算 | suàn | to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...) |
| 帮 | bāng | old variant of 幫|帮[bang1]; to help; to assist; to support; for sb (i.e. as a help); hired (as worker); side (of pail, boat etc); outer layer; upper (of a shoe); group; gang; clique; party; secret society |
| 长高 | zhǎng gāo | to grow taller |
| 不少 | bù shǎo | many; quite a few; a good number of |
| 值 | zhī | value; to happen to |
| 儿子 | ér zi | son |
| 听 | yǐn | smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t… |
| 奇 | jī | odd (number) |
| 怪 | guǎi | odd; strange; uncanny; to find strange; to regard as odd; (coll.) somewhat; rather |
| 第 | dì | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high… |
| 二 | èr | two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 一早 | yī zǎo | early in the morning; at dawn |
| 所有 | suǒ yǒu | all; to have; to possess; to own |
Once upon a time, there was a farmer who planted a field. Every day he would go to the field to check on his seedlings, but he felt they were growing too slowly and became very anxious.
He thought: “Is there any way to make the seedlings grow faster?”
He thought and thought, and finally came up with a “brilliant idea.” He ran to the field and pulled each seedling up a little bit higher with his hands.
He worked from morning until night, exhausted to the point of complete fatigue, but he felt very happy inside. After returning home, he proudly said to his family: “I’m completely worn out today! But it was worth it – I finally helped the seedlings grow much taller!”
His son heard this and thought it was strange. The next morning, he ran to the field to take a look – all the seedlings had withered and died.