(//www.tvsmo.com)
【大紀元5月18日訊】
陳堯咨是個聲名遠播的神射手。每次表演，都有一大堆人圍觀。

一天，有個賣油翁剛巧走過，看見前面的人群，也停下來看看。

所有目光都集中在陳堯咨身上。他的箭法非常準確，群眾都報以如雷的掌聲，但賣油翁只是點點頭，並沒有半點驚奇的樣子。

陳堯咨頓時不高興，向觀眾鞠躬後便怒氣沖沖地走向賣油翁，由頭到腳地打量他，然後厲聲問到：「你會射箭嗎？」

賣油翁搖著頭，回答說：「我不會射箭。不過，我倒不認為你的表演有甚麼特別，只是工多藝熟而已。」

陳堯咨大怒起來，咆哮著說：「你對射箭之道一無所知，還冒充是專家！」

賣油翁撫慰他說：「不要生我的氣。我以賣油維生，這些年來倒學會了一些小小玩意。讓我表演給你看。你自會明白我所說的了。」

賣油翁就把裝油的葫蘆放在地上，跟著將一個銅錢蓋在葫蘆口，然後站起來用一個勺子倒油。油穿過銅錢的眼流入葫蘆裏，絲毫沒有沾到銅錢。

賣油翁微笑著說：「這一點也沒有甚麼特別，工多藝熟而已。」

從此，陳堯咨變得非常謙虛。

It’s Only A Matter Of Practice

Chen Yaozi was an ace archer. His fame spread far and wide. Every time he performed, a large crowd gathered to watch.

One day an old man who made his living selling oil happened to pass by. Seeing the crowd before him, he also stopped to watch.

All eyes were bent on Chen Yaozi. His shots were very precise, and the crowd cheered him on with rounds and rounds of applause. The old man, however, just nodded his head. He did not seem to be the least impressed.

Chen Yaozi was not pleased. After taking his bow, he stalked angrily up to the old man and eyed him from head to foot. “Do you know how to shoot?” he snapped.

The old man shook his head and said, “No, I don’t! Still, I don’t think there’s anything special with your performance. It’s only a matter of practice.”

Chen Yaozi flew into a temper. “You hardly know a thing about archery,” he snarled, “yet you’re pretending to be an expert!”

“Don’t get upset over what I said!” said the old man. “I make my living selling oil, and through the years I’ve mastered a little trick. Let me show you this trick, then you’ll see what I mean.”

The old man set his oil gourd on the ground an placed a coin over its mouth. He then stood up and began pouring oil using a ladle. The oil went straight through the hole of the coin, filling up the oil gourd without staining the coin at all.

“There’s nothing special about this,” smiled the old man. “It’s only a matter of practice.”

From then on, Chen Yaozi became a very humble archer.

轉自：《翀仔寓言網》@(//www.dajiyuan.com)