English Original
During the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), a man named Yue Yangzi from the State of Yue found a piece of gold on the road and brought it home to his wife. However, his virtuous wife was displeased. She said, "I have heard that a moral man does not drink a thief's water, and an honest man refuses unearned gains. What do you think of picking up another's lost valuable and keeping it for oneself?"
Ashamed, Yue Yangzi returned the gold to where he found it.
The following year, Yue Yangzi decided to travel and study with scholars to broaden his knowledge. He set off on his journey.
A year later, he suddenly returned home. "Why have you come back?" his wife asked in surprise. "You've only spent one year studying."
"I missed you dearly," he replied.
Without a word, his wife took a pair of scissors and went to her loom, where a piece of brocade was half-woven. Pointing at it, she said, "This brocade is made from the finest silk, woven strand by strand. If I cut it now, all my previous work will be wasted. Your studies are the same. Knowledge is acquired through diligence. By stopping halfway, are you not doing the same as cutting this brocade on the loom?"
Deeply moved by her words, Yue Yangzi left home again to continue his studies. Several years later, he became a learned man.
中文翻译
战国时期（公元前475-221年），越国有一个叫乐羊子的人。一天，他在路上捡到一块金子，带回家交给了妻子。然而，他善良的妻子并不高兴。她说：“我听说，有道德的人不饮盗泉之水，廉洁的人不接受施舍。捡到别人丢失的贵重物品据为己有，你认为这种行为如何？”
乐羊子感到羞愧，将金子放回了原处。
第二年，乐羊子觉得应该外出游学以丰富知识，于是便出发了。
一年后，他突然回到家中。妻子惊讶地问：“你怎么回来了？你才跟着学者学习了一年。”
“我非常想念你，”他回答。
妻子一言不发，拿起一把剪刀，走到她正在工作的织布机前，上面有一幅织了一半的锦缎。她指着锦缎说：“这锦缎是用最好的丝线织成的，我一缕一缕地编织而成。如果我现在剪断它，之前的所有功夫就白费了。你的学业也是如此。知识唯有通过勤奋才能获得。你现在半途而废，难道不就和剪断这织机上的锦缎一样吗？”
乐羊子被她的话深深打动，再次离家继续求学。几年后，他成为了一位博学的人。