A four-year-old boy picks the smallest pear from a shared plate so his older brothers can have bigger ones — one of the very first moral stories taught to Chinese children.
Audio coming soon
东汉的时候，有个小男孩，名叫孔融，那一年，他才四岁。
有一天，家里的大人端来一盘又大又香甜的梨，分给孔融和他的哥哥们吃。
大人笑着说："孔融，你先挑一个吧！"
盘子里的梨，有大的，也有小的。大家都以为，孔融一定会挑那个最大的梨。
没想到，孔融伸出小手，挑走了那个最小的梨！
大人觉得很奇怪，就问他："这么多梨，又是让你先挑，你为什么不拿最大的，反而拿了最小的呢？"
孔融认认真真地回答："我年纪最小，应该吃小的梨，把大的梨留给哥哥们吃呀。"
在场的大人们听了，都又惊讶又高兴——一个才四岁的孩子，竟然这么懂得谦让！
孔融长大以后，成为了一位很受人尊敬的学者和官员。
孔融让梨讲的是四岁的孔融主动挑小梨、把大梨让给哥哥们的故事。这个故事告诉我们，懂得谦让、懂得为别人着想，是一种从小就可以拥有的美德。
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a young boy named Kong Rong, who was just four years old.
One day, the grown-ups brought out a plate of big, sweet pears to share among Kong Rong and his older brothers.
"Kong Rong, why don't you choose first?" one of the adults said with a smile.
On the plate, some pears were big, and some were small. Everyone assumed that, of course, Kong Rong would pick the biggest one.
But instead, Kong Rong reached out and picked the smallest pear on the plate.
Surprised, the adult asked him: "There are so many pears, and you got to choose first — why didn't you take the biggest one instead of the smallest?"
Kong Rong answered simply and thoughtfully: "I'm the youngest, so I should eat the smaller pears, and leave the bigger ones for my older brothers."
Everyone who heard this was both surprised and delighted — that a child of only four could already be so thoughtful and unselfish!
Kong Rong grew up to become a respected scholar and government official.
Kong Rong Gives Up the Pear is a gentle story about noticing others and putting them first, even in a small everyday moment. It shows that kindness and humility are qualities children can practice from a very young age.
