As Zengzi's wife was about to go to the market, her little son was making a tearful scene insisting to go with her. "Wait at home," she said to the boy, "When I come back, I will slaughter a pig for you to eat." When she came back, Zengzi was on his way to catch a pig in order to slaughter it. His wife stopped him, saying:“I wasn't serious about the pig."

　　"Children can not be talked to in this way," he replied "they have little understanding. They learn from their parents and benefit from their parents' correct teaching. By lying to him now, you are teaching him to lie in the future. If a mother deceives her son, her son will not believe in his mother anymore. This is not the right way of education."

　　So he slaughtered the pig and cooked it.

摘自《英语沙龙》2002年第3期

 　　曾子之妻之市，其子随之而泣。其母曰：“女还，顾反为女杀彘。”妻适市来，曾子欲捕彘杀之。妻止之曰：“特与婴儿戏耳。”曾子曰：“婴儿非与戏也。婴儿非有智也，待父母而学者也，听父母之教。今子欺之，是教子欺也。母欺子，子而不信其母，非所以成教也。”遂烹彘也。（《韩非子．外储说左上》）

　　曾子的夫人到集市上去，他的儿子哭着闹着要跟着去。他的母亲对他说：“你先回家呆着，待会儿我回来杀猪给你吃。”她刚从集市上回来，曾子就要捉猪去杀。她就劝止说：“只不过是跟孩子开玩笑罢了。”曾子说：“孩子，可不能跟他开玩笑啊！小孩子没有思考和判断能力，要向父母亲学习，听从父母亲给予的正确的教导。现在你欺骗他，这是教孩子骗人啊！母亲欺骗儿子，儿子就不再相信自己的母亲了，这不是实现教育的方法。” copyright bulaiya.com

　　于是曾子就杀猪煮肉给孩子们吃。
                      林新民 译
 

女-汝 【你 you】
彘【猪 pig】 bulaiya.com，China Information