Translated
孟宗，三國時期江夏人，年少的時候父親就早早地去世了，只有年老體衰的母親和他相依為命。
一日母親深感不適，經過求醫問藥，得知用新鮮的竹筍做湯就可以醫好母親。因為正值凜凜寒冬，所以根本就沒有鮮筍，小孟宗非常希望母親的身體好起來，可是又無計可施。擔心憂愁中,小孟宗獨自一人跑到竹林，扶竹而哭。他的哭聲打動了身邊的竹子，於是奇蹟發生了，只聽呼的一聲，地上就瞬間長出了許多的嫩筍。小孟宗看到時心裏特別高興，他小心地摘取了竹筍，歡歡喜喜地回到了家裏。回到家之後，他馬上用竹筍為母親熬好了筍湯。母親喝了筍湯之後身體果然大有好轉。孟宗後來大有作為，官至司空。
IMPROVED VERSION 🙂
It was winter, the snow like a white, soft blanket over the roofs of houses and the ground. A boy’s mother was sick, coughing in bed.
“ Mother, drink some porridge. You will feel better.”
“Hmm..” She picked up the bowl and drank.
“ Drink more, Mother.”
“ No, I do not want to drink this.”
“ Then what do you want to drink?”
His mother hesitated and then shook her head.
“ What to you want to eat? What do you want to drink?”
“ I would like some bamboo shoot soup.”
“ Huh?”
He took the bowl and went in the kitchen, gazing out the window. It was snowing fiercely, as if God himself was furious. Where will he find any bamboo shoots to feed his mother?
The boy ran out of the house, tears in his eyes.
“ Hey! You!” cried his next door neighbor.
“ Who are you talking to anyway?” asked his wife.
“ That boy next door.”
“ What a poor boy, for his father died and now his mother is sick.”
The neighbor couldn’t agree more.
The boy ran and ran into a forest of old and fully grown and tough bamboos. mayhap he find perhaps one bamboo shoot. But he didn’t. And there he wept.
He wept for his mother. He wept because he couldn’t find what she wanted.
Suddenly, the ground cracked nd bamboo shoots grew out. The boy looked up and picked up a shoot, staring at it in awe. He ran back home as fast as he can, and boiled the shoots into soup.
“ Mother!” he cried,” Mother drink this! It’s really bamboo shoot soup!!”
She took a sip,” It really is! Tell me, where did you get this?”
The boy explained what happened
“ That is such a miracle indeed!” cried his mother as the boy nodded in agreement.
“ Son!” she then said suddenly.
The boy turned to his mother ,”Yes mother? Are you all right?”
“ I believe I am healed!”
“ Are you” the boy asked.
His mother stood and walked.
“ You really are!” he cried wit joy.
“ Come, let us stand and go outside..”
And so they did.
THE END 😀
