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Story 38: Kong Rong Lets Pears

Kong Rong Lets Pears

Author: Anonymous

In the State of Lu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a child named Kong Rong who was very smart and sensible. Kong Rong also has five older brothers and a younger brother. The seven brothers get along very harmoniously.

One day, Kong Rong’s mother bought a lot of pears. A plate of pears was placed on the table. The brothers asked Kong Rong and the youngest brother to take it first.

Kong Rong looked at the pears on the plate and found that there were big and small pears. He didn’t choose the good ones or the big ones. He only picked the smallest pear and ate it with relish.

When Dad saw Kong Rong’s behavior, he was very happy and thought: Even though this child is just four years old, he understands that good things should be left to others. So he deliberately asked Kong Rong: “There are so many pears on the plate, and you are asked to take them first. Why don’t you take the big one and only take the smallest one?”

Kong Rong replied: “I am young, so I should take the smallest one, and leave the big one to my brother.”

Dad then asked: “Isn’t your brother younger than you? According to you, he should be the youngest one?”

Kong Rong said: “I am older than my younger brother. I am the older brother. I should leave the older one to my younger brother.”

When my father heard what he said, he laughed and said: “Good boy, good boy, you are such a good boy, you will definitely be very promising in the future.”