扣槃扪烛

In the past, a man was born blind. He had never seen the sun, so of course he had no idea what the sun looked like. But he would like very much to know the shape of the sun, so he asked people with good eyes.

 

Someone told him: "The sun is like a copper¹ plate."

 

The blind man was very glad to hear this. When he returned home, he struck² the copper plate and heard a ding-dong sound. Later, when he heard the toll³ of a bell, he thought it was the sun.

 

Another man told him: "The sun can give out light like a candle."

 

When the blind man returned home, he touched the candle, and remembered well its shape. One day, he touched a yue (flute) and said happily: "This is the sun."

 

过去，有个盲人一生下来就是失明的。他从来没有见过太阳，当然不知道太阳究竟是什么样子；但是他很想知道太阳的模样。于是，他向眼睛好的人询问。

 

有人告诉他：“太阳的形状像个铜盘。”

 

盲人听了很高兴，回到家里，敲敲铜盘，发出叮叮当当的声音。后来，偶然听到钟声，他就以为是太阳。

 

又有个人对他说：“太阳能发光，就像蜡烛一样。”

 

盲人回到家里，摸摸蜡烛，牢牢地记住了它的形状。有一天，他摸到一支笛，得意洋洋地说：“这是太阳!”

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