第二章 曾子杀猪

In ancient times, there was a very learned man named Zengzi.

Zengzi lived with his wife and son, and they also kept a pig at home.

One day, the wife wanted to go to the market. The son followed behind, crying and fussing, wanting to go with his mother.

The wife had no choice, so she coaxed him, saying, 'Go home and wait. When I come back from the market, I will kill the pig and give you some to eat.'

Upon hearing this, the son stopped crying and went home happily to wait.

When the wife came back from the market, as soon as she entered the house, she saw Zengzi holding a knife, about to kill the pig.

She hurriedly ran over to stop him: 'I was just coaxing the child, casually saying that. How can you actually kill the pig?'

Zengzi put down the knife, looked at her, and said, 'You cannot casually deceive a child. He is still young and knows nothing. He learns from his parents. If we lie to him today, he will lie to others in the future.'

The wife looked at the pig in the pen and said nothing.

This pig had been raised at home for a long time, waiting to be sold on a festival day to earn money the family needed. Killing it now would mean a significant loss for the family.

But she thought for a moment and did not stop Zengzi.

Zengzi really killed the pig.

That evening, the family ate meat. The child ate happily.

Zengzi said to his wife, 'We can raise another pig after killing this one. But if a child learns to lie, it will be hard to change in the future.'

Many years later, this child grew up. He kept his word and never forgot what he promised others.

The pig that would have been sold for money was gone. What came in return was the child's memory: every word his parents said to him was true.