精选英文成语故事：抱薪救火
精选英文成语故事：抱薪救火
Carrying Faggots to Put Out a Fire
In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.B., the qin army launched another attack upon the State of Wei with a momentum more vigorous than ever. The king of the State of Wei summoned his officials,and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars,the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak ofresistance. At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the offinials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counsellor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said:"Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all.It is just because they are cowardly and afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temperarily satisfy the ambition of the king of the State of Qin is insatiably greedy. It will never stop assaulting us until our land is totally given away."Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. That was because he didn't know that,instead of putting out the fire, faggots could only make it burning more vigorously. Isn't it equivalent to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?"Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. For the king of the State of Wei was cowardly and only cared for peace at the moment.As might be expected,the Qin army assaulted the State of Wei on a large scale in 225 B.C.,surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes of the Huanghe River.The State of Wei was finally destroyed by the State of Qin.This story appears in the Historical Records Written by Sima Qian.The set phrase"carrying faggots to put out a fire"is used to mean adopting a wrong method to save a situation and ending up by making it worse.
战国末期，秦国向魏国接连发动大规模的进攻，魏国无力抵抗，大片土地都被秦军占领了。到公元前273年，秦国又一次向魏国出兵，势头空前猛烈。
魏王把大臣们召来，愁眉苦脸地问大家有没有使秦国退兵的办法。大臣们由于经过多年的战乱，提起打仗就吓得哆嗦，谁也不敢谈“抵抗”二字。在这大兵压境的危急时刻，多数大臣都劝魏王，用黄河以北和太行山以南的大片土地为代价，向秦王求和。
谋士苏代听了这些话，很不以为然，忙上前对魏王说：“大王，他们是因为自己胆小怕死，才让您去卖国求和，根本不为国家着想。您想，把大片土地割让给秦国虽然暂时满足了秦王的野心，但秦国的欲望是无止境的，只要魏国的土地没割完，秦军就不会停止进攻我们。”
说到这里，苏代讲了一个故事：从前有一个人，他的房子起火了，别人劝他快用水去浇灭大火，但他不听，偏抱起一捆柴草去救火，是因为他不懂得柴草不但不能灭火反而能助长火势的道理。大王若同意拿着魏国土地去求和，不就等于抱着柴草救火吗？”
尽管苏代讲得头头是道，但是胆小的魏王只顾眼前的太平，还是依大臣们的意见把魏国大片土地割让给秦国。到公元225年，果然秦军又向魏国大举进攻，包围了国都大梁，掘开黄河大堤让洪水淹没了大梁城，魏国终于被秦国灭掉了。
故事出自《史记魏世家》。成语“抱薪救火”比喻用错误的方法去消灭祸害，结果反而使祸害扩大。
延伸阅读：
伊索寓言：老鼠开会（Belling the cat）
Long ago, there was a big cat in the house. He caught many mice while they were stealing food.
One day the mice had a meeting to talk about the way to deal with their common enemy. Some said this, and some said that.
At last a young mouse got up, and said that he had
a good idea.
"We could tie a bell around the neck of the cat. Then when he comes near, we can hear the sound of the bell, and run away."
Everyone approved of this proposal, but an old wise mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but who will tie the bell to the cat?" The mice looked at each other, but nobody spoke.
老鼠开会
●从前，一所房子里面有一只大猫，他抓住了很多偷东西的老鼠。
●一天，老鼠在一起开会商量如何对付他们共同的敌人。会上大家各有各的主张，最后，一只小老鼠站出来说他有一个好主意。
●“我们可以在猫的脖子上绑一个铃铛，那么如果他来到附近，我们听到铃声就可以马上逃跑。”
●大家都赞同这个建议，这时一只聪明的老耗子站出来说：“这的确是个绝妙的主意，但是谁来给猫的脖子上绑铃铛呢？”老鼠们面面相觑，谁也没有说话。
寓意: 有些事情说起来容易，做起来却很难。
苏格兰玛丽女王Mary Queen of Scots Tim Vicary达维里奇奥之死
It was a Saturday evening in March 1566.I was in Edinburgh with some friends.david Riccio was there,with six or seven other people.We were in a small room,but there was a good dinner on the table,and we were happy.It was dark outside,it was warm and friendly.
1566年3月的一个星期六晚上。我和一些朋友呆在爱丁堡。达维里奇奥也在那里，另外还有六、七个人。我们在一间小屋子里，桌上摆着丰盛的菜肴，我们都很高兴。虽然外面夜幕笼罩，但屋子里充满了温暖和友好的气氛。
Suddenly,a door opened behind me.In the door was Henry darnley,my husband.I stood up and smiled.
突然，我身后的门被打开了，门口站着我的丈夫亨利达恩利。我站起来朝他笑。
‘Good evening,my lord,’I said.‘Please come in.Would you like something to eat?’
“晚上好，我的丈夫，”我说道，“请进来吧，你想吃点什么吗？”
‘No thank you,’he said.‘I'm not hungry.But I want to sit next to you,wife.Please tell that man to move.’
“不，谢谢，”他说。“我不饿。但我想坐在你身边，我的妻子。请叫那个人走开。”
A man got out of the chair next to me and Darnley sat beside me.Then he put his arms round me.I did not like it.His face was hot,and his eyes looked unhappy.But I smiled and said,‘I'm happy to see you,my lord.’
一人从我身旁的座位上站起来，达恩利坐到了我身边。然后他伸出手环抱着我。我不喜欢这样。他的脸很热，他的眼神看起来很不高兴。但我还是笑着对他说。“很高兴见到你，我的丈夫。”
‘Are you,Mary?’He laughed.‘Are you really?’
“是吗，玛丽？”他笑道。“是真的吗？”
‘Yes,of course,my lord.But’
“是的，当然是的，我的丈夫。不过”
Then the second door opened and his friend,Lord Ruthven,stood there.He had a knife in his hand.His face was red,and he looked very angry.
接着，第二扇门打开了，他的朋友鲁斯温勋爵站在那儿。他手里拿着一把刀。他的脸红红的，满脸怒容。
Af first no one moved.Then Ruthven said,‘Your Majesty,send David Riccio out of this room,now!I want him!’
起初，谁也没动。然后鲁斯温说道，“陛下，把达维里奇奥从这房间里赶出去，马上！我要他！”
I looked at Riccio.He was afraid.‘Why?’I said.‘Why do you want him?’
我看着里奇奥，他显得很害怕。“为什么？”我问，“你为什么要他？”
‘He is a bad,wicked man!’Ruthven said.‘Send him out!’
“他是个不道德的坏人！”鲁斯温说。“把他赶出去！”
‘No!’I said.‘You want to kill him.David Riccio is my friend!He stays here,with me!’
“不！”我说。“你想杀他。达维里奇奥是我的朋友！他呆在这里，和我在一起！”
‘He goes out,woman!’Lord Ruthven said.‘King Henry,hold your wife,please!’
“他得出来，女人！”鲁斯温勋爵说。“亨利亲王，抓住你的妻子，快点！”
I stood up,but Darnley held my arms and I could not move.David Riccio ran behind me and held my dress.My friends in the room stood up too,and moved towards Ruthven angrily.But he had a knife in his hand.
我站了起来，可是达恩利抓住我的胳膊，我不能动弹。达维里奇奥跑到我身后抓住我的衣服。我房间里的朋友们也站了起来，愤怒地向鲁斯温逼近，但是鲁斯温手里拿着刀。
‘Get back!’he said angrily.‘Don't touch me!’
“回去！”他怒吼。“不要过来！”
Then five men with knives ran into the little room,and there was a fight.One man held a knife in my face,and another man hit David Riccio,behind me.Then they pulled him out of the room.
接着，五个拿刀的男人冲进了这是小屋。一场冲突开始了。一个男人把刀架在我面前，另一个人去攻击躲在我身后的达维里奇奥。然后他们把他拖出了房间。
‘Help me!’he screamed.‘Help me,my Queenplease!They're going to kill me!Don'taaaaaargh!’
“救命！”他尖叫道。“救救我，我的女王请救救我！他们要杀我！不要！啊！”
I couldn't help him,because Darnley had me in his arms.But I could hear David Riccio's screams.I think he fell down the stairs,and he screamed for two or three minutes.Then it was quiet.
我帮不了他，因为达恩利紧紧抓着我。可是我能听到达维里奇奥的尖叫声。我想他是从楼梯上摔了下去，尖叫持续了二三分钟后。一切归于平静。
‘What are you doing?’I asked Darnley angrily.‘Riccio is a good manwhy are you doing this?’
“你在干么什？”我愤怒地责问达恩利。“里奇奥是个好人你为什么要这样做？”
Darnley laughed.‘You are my wife,Marynot David Riccio's!’he said.‘So why are you with him every evening?You never talk to me!’
达恩利笑道。“你是我的妻子，玛丽不是达维里奇奥的！”他说。“所以你为什么要每晚和他呆在一起？你从没对我说过！”
‘I don't talk to you because you are never here!’I said.‘You are always drinking with your friends!You aren't a king,you're a stupid boy!’
“我没有对你说是因为你从来不在这里！”我说。“你总是和你的朋友们不停地喝酒！你不是个亲王，你是个愚蠢的小男孩！”
He laughed again.It was not a nice laugh.‘Well,’he said.‘Perhaps I am a boy,but that is better than David Riccio,now.Do you want to go and see him?’
他又一次笑了，那是个不带好意的笑。“好吧，”他说。“也许我只是个男孩，但也比达维里奇奥强。你想去看看他吗？
I did see him,five minutes after that.He was very dead,and there was blood all over the floor.Poor David Riccio.He sings to God now,not me.
五分钟后，我看到了他。他已经死了，地上到处是血。可怜的达维里奇奥，他现在给上帝唱歌了，而不再为我。
I looked at Henry Darnley,my husband.He had a stupid smile on his face.But I think he was fraid of me.I looked at him a long time,and the smile went away.
我看着亨利达恩利我的丈夫。他脸上带着愚蠢的微笑。但我认为他还是怕我的。我盯着他看了很久，他脸上的笑容渐渐消失了。
‘Remember this night,husband,’I said to him.‘Remember it well.Think about it when you look into my eyes,and before you go to sleep.David Riccio was my friend,and you killed him in front of my.I'm never going to forget that,Henry Darnley.Never!’
“记住今天晚上，丈夫，”我对他说。“好好记住。在你看着我的眼睛的时候，在你上床睡觉之前，好好想一想这件事。达维里奇奥是我的朋友，而你却当着我的面杀死了他。对此我永远都不会原谅，亨利达恩利，永远不！”