GRINDING IRON PESTLE INTO NEEDLE

Words:Joe&范朝穎

Art: 靈繪童工作室

This is a story about a famous Chinesepoetnamed Li Bai. He lived in the TangDynastyinancientChina.

When Li Bai was a child, he studied on Xiang'er Mountain in today's Sichuan Province. But Li Bai was not a good student. He was terribly lazy.

這是關于我國著名詩人李白的故事。

李白生活在唐代,他小時候在象耳山(在今四川省境內)學習，但他可不是一個好學生，他很能偷懶。

Key points

poet 詩人 dynasty 朝代 ancient 古代的

Li Bai's teachers often talked about him. They said, “Li Bai hasbrains! But he's too lazy to use them!”

李白的老師們經常談論他，他們都說：“李白很聰明，但是不在學習上下功夫。”

You see, Li Bai did not enjoy studying much. He thought it wasboring. He just wanted to play in the forests upon the mountains.

的確是這樣，李白不喜歡學習，他認為學習是件無聊的事情。他只想在山林里玩耍。

Key points

brain 智慧；腦 boring 無聊的

One day,whilstLi Bai was out playing, he

stumbled uponan old womangrinding iron pestlebesides a mountaincreek.

一天，李白在玩耍時遇到了一個正在小溪邊大石頭上磨鐵杵的老婆婆。

Her hair was long and white, and her skin was

crackedlikebark.But when she looked up at Li Bai,her eyes were full of warmth.

老婆婆的頭發很長也很白，她的皮膚皺得像樹皮。但當她抬頭看向李白時，她的眼神里充滿了溫暖。

Key points

whilst 當……的時候 stumble upon 偶然遇見 grind 磨

iron 鐵器；鐵制的 pestle （搗碎或碾磨用的）杵

creek 小溪 cracked 干裂的，有裂紋的 bark 樹皮

Li Bai asked her why she wasbotheringwith such a difficult andmind-numbingwork.

李白問她為什么要做這份既艱辛又無聊的工作。

“As long as I work hard, this iron pestle will turn into aneedle.”said she. Then she went back to her work, and Li Bai went back to his fun. But her wordslingeredin Li Bai's mind.

老婆婆答道：“只要功夫深，鐵杵也能磨成針。”說完，她又繼續工作了。李白也回去玩耍了，可老婆婆的話一直回蕩在李白的腦海中。

Key points

bother 操心，煩惱

mind-numbing （糟糕、無聊或程度強烈到）令人頭腦麻木的

needle 針

linger 徘徊；逗留

Li Bai found it dif fi cult to

forget what she had said. Her words were stuck in his head all day and night.

李白怎么也忘不了老婦人說的話，那句話整日整夜地在他腦子里回旋。

A week later, while sitting alone in his room, Li Bai realized why he could not forget those words.

一周后，李白獨自坐在房間里，他突然明白自己為什么忘不掉那句話了。

He realized that he should work hard like the old woman with her iron pestle. If he worked hard, he could achieve anything that he wanted to.

他明白了，他應該像那位認真磨鐵杵的老婦人一樣刻苦努力。如果他努力學習，他就能收獲他想要的。

Based onthisrealization, Li Bai began to study hard. Eventually he became one of the greatest poets in Chinese history.

認識到這一點，李白開始刻苦學習，并最終成為中國歷史上最偉大的詩人之一。

Key points

base on 使建立在……基礎上realization 認識；領會

（劇 本）

第一幕

場景：學堂里 角色：旁白者、李白、李白的老師

旁白：Li Bai is in class. His teacher is criticizing（批評） him for being lazy again.

老師大聲訓斥：Li Bai! Are you listening to me?

李白迷茫地回答：Hmmmm?

老師：You must concentrate! If you don't study hard, you won't get far in life!

李白無奈地說：But studying is so boring!

老師肯定道：No! It is interesting! And it is useful. You must study.

李白：But I want to go out and play.

老師：You can play after class! Now is the time for study.

李白嘆氣道：OK.

旁白：The teacher and students resume their class. However, after 2 minutes later,Li Bai starts staring out of the window again.

第二幕

場景：小溪旁 角色：旁白者、李白、老婆婆

旁白：Li Bai is out playing. He stumbled upon an old woman grinding an iron pestle besides a creek.

老婆婆一邊磨著手里的鐵杵一邊抬頭問：Hello, there young man. What are you chasing?

李白停止了追逐，回答道：A rabbit, but I lost it. What are you doing?

老婆婆拿起手里的鐵杵，在李白面前晃了晃，說：I'm grinding my pestle.

李白疑惑地問：Why are you doing that?

老婆婆：I need a needle.

李白驚訝地說：But it's so boring.

老婆婆：Somebody has to do it.

李白不放棄地說：And it's dif fi cult.

老婆婆和藹地說：Listen to me, young one. As long as I work hard, this iron pestle will turn into a needle. Maybe you should try working hard too. It will make you better.

李白：Maybe, but now I'm going to chase the rabbit! Good luck with your grinding.李白跑遠了。

老婆婆：Good luck with your chasing.

老婆婆又繼續磨鐵杵。

旁白：Li Bai continued with his chase, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not forget what the old woman had said to him.

第三幕

場景：學堂里 角色：旁白者、李白、李白的老師

旁白：Li Bai's teacher notices a change in Li Bai's attitude towards study.

老師驚喜又疑惑地說：You're working much harder these days! What has happened?

李白：I've realized that sometimes people need to work hard. And I want to be a better person.

老師拍著李白的肩膀，欣慰地說：Good for you, boy. Your grades are much better.I think you will achieve your potential in the fi nal.

李白感謝道：Thank you, teacher. I certainly hope so.

旁白：Li Bai continued to work hard and he eventually became, as we all know,one of the greatest poets in Chinese history.