A long time ago, in Henan there was a young man named Le whose family was very poor.

One day, Le Yangzi picked up a piece of gold on the road. He happily took it home and gave it to his wife. His wife said in all seriousness: "I heard that men with aspiration do not drink from the Dao (meaning steal in Chinese) Spring, and honest men do not take handout food. Furthermore, picked-up money and things will stain one's moral character."

Hearing this, Yangzi was very ashamed of himself. So he threw the piece of gold away in the open field.

This incident touched Le Yangzi deeply. He made up his mind to leave home and go to a faraway place to study under a master.

One year later, Le Yangzi returned home. His wife inquired why he returned so soon. Le Yangzi smiled and said: "There is no other reason except that I, being all alone away from home, miss you so much that I come back."

His wife turned pale at his words. She took up a knife, ran to the silk loom, put the knife on the silk fabric woven from natural silk, and said to Le Yangzi in an agitated tone:

"I reeled silk strand by strand from cocoons and, with the shuttle moving to and fro, weaved it inch by inch into this bolt of silk fabric. Now if I should cut the fabric with the knife, all the previous efforts and time I've devoted would be wasted. While studying, you should always remind yourself that there is yet much more to learn. Only in this way can you cultivate a noble moral character. If you give up halfway, it will be just like cutting up this silk fabric at one stroke."

Deeply moved by his wife's words, Le Yangzi bid farewell to her at once, went to the faraway place, and made determined efforts to study hard. He had been away from home for a good seven years, and finally succeeded in his studies.

從前，河南有個青年，名叫樂羊子，家里很窮。

有一天，樂羊子在路上拾到一塊金子，高高興興地拿回家，交給妻子。妻子卻一本正經地說：

“我聽說，有志氣的人不喝盜泉之水，廉潔的人不吃磋來之食;何況，這拾來的錢物，會站污一個人的品德!”

樂羊子聽了妻子的話，心里感到非常慚愧，就把金子扔到野外去了。

這件事，對樂羊子的觸動很大。他下了決心，離家去很遠的地方，拜老師學習。

一年以后，樂羊子回到家里。妻子詢問丈夫為什么這么快就回來了。樂羊子笑著說：“沒有別的原因，只是一個人在外面太想念你了，所以就回來了。”

妻子一聽，臉色變得刷白。她順手拿起一把刀，奔到絲織機前，把刀放在蠶絲織成的綢面上，激動地對樂羊子說：“這絲綢，是我從蠶繭繳成絲線，一絲一縷，一梭子來，一梭子去，一寸一寸地織，才織成這一匹的啊!現在，我假使一刀割斷這匹絲綢，豈不前功盡棄，白白地浪費了時間嗎?你呀，讀書求知識，也應該隨時提醒自己學得還很不夠，這樣才能養成高尚的品德。如果你半途而廢，那么跟一刀割斷這匹絲綢又有什么兩樣呢!”

聽了妻子的這番話，樂羊子深深地感動了。他馬上告別了妻子，去遠方發憤攻讀，整整七年沒有回家，最后終于學成功了。

A long time ago, in Henan there was a young man named Le whose family was very poor.

One day, Le Yangzi picked up a piece of gold on the road. He happily took it home and gave it to his wife. His wife said in all seriousness: "I heard that men with aspiration do not drink from the Dao (meaning steal in Chinese) Spring, and honest men do not take handout food. Furthermore, picked-up money and things will stain one's moral character."

Hearing this, Yangzi was very ashamed of himself. So he threw the piece of gold away in the open field.

This incident touched Le Yangzi deeply. He made up his mind to leave home and go to a faraway place to study under a master.

One year later, Le Yangzi returned home. His wife inquired why he returned so soon. Le Yangzi smiled and said: "There is no other reason except that I, being all alone away from home, miss you so much that I come back."

His wife turned pale at his words. She took up a knife, ran to the silk loom, put the knife on the silk fabric woven from natural silk, and said to Le Yangzi in an agitated tone:

"I reeled silk strand by strand from cocoons and, with the shuttle moving to and fro, weaved it inch by inch into this bolt of silk fabric. Now if I should cut the fabric with the knife, all the previous efforts and time I've devoted would be wasted. While studying, you should always remind yourself that there is yet much more to learn. Only in this way can you cultivate a noble moral character. If you give up halfway, it will be just like cutting up this silk fabric at one stroke."

Deeply moved by his wife's words, Le Yangzi bid farewell to her at once, went to the faraway place, and made determined efforts to study hard. He had been away from home for a good seven years, and finally succeeded in his studies.

從前，河南有個青年，名叫樂羊子，家里很窮。

有一天，樂羊子在路上拾到一塊金子，高高興興地拿回家，交給妻子。妻子卻一本正經地說：

“我聽說，有志氣的人不喝盜泉之水，廉潔的人不吃磋來之食;何況，這拾來的錢物，會站污一個人的品德!”

樂羊子聽了妻子的話，心里感到非常慚愧，就把金子扔到野外去了。

這件事，對樂羊子的觸動很大。他下了決心，離家去很遠的地方，拜老師學習。

一年以后，樂羊子回到家里。妻子詢問丈夫為什么這么快就回來了。樂羊子笑著說：“沒有別的原因，只是一個人在外面太想念你了，所以就回來了。”

妻子一聽，臉色變得刷白。她順手拿起一把刀，奔到絲織機前，把刀放在蠶絲織成的綢面上，激動地對樂羊子說：“這絲綢，是我從蠶繭繳成絲線，一絲一縷，一梭子來，一梭子去，一寸一寸地織，才織成這一匹的啊!現在，我假使一刀割斷這匹絲綢，豈不前功盡棄，白白地浪費了時間嗎?你呀，讀書求知識，也應該隨時提醒自己學得還很不夠，這樣才能養成高尚的品德。如果你半途而廢，那么跟一刀割斷這匹絲綢又有什么兩樣呢!”

聽了妻子的這番話，樂羊子深深地感動了。他馬上告別了妻子，去遠方發憤攻讀，整整七年沒有回家，最后終于學成功了。