It had been three years since King Zhuang of Chu ascended the throne, but he had neither issued a decree nor dealt with any state affairs. Furthermore, there were no deeds worth mentioning. All the civil and military officials of the court couldn't understand what was the matter.

　　楚莊王即位已經(jīng)三年了，可是他還沒(méi)有頒布過(guò)一項(xiàng)法令，沒(méi)有處理過(guò)一件政事，更談不上有什么作為。朝廷中的文武百官都弄不懂這是怎么回事。

　　One day, a military official quietly asked King of Chu in the carriage:

　　一天，右司馬在馬車(chē)?yán)锴那牡貑?wèn)楚王:

　　"Your Majesty, I heard that in the south, there was a big bird dwelling in the hills. Three years passed, it neither flew nor cried. Could Your Majesty tell me the reason?"

　　“大王，我聽(tīng)說(shuō)南方有一只大鳥(niǎo)棲息在山上，三年過(guò)去了，既不飛，也不鳴。請(qǐng)問(wèn)大王，這是什么原因呢?”

　　King Zhuang of Chu smiled and answered:

　　楚莊王笑了一笑，回答說(shuō):

　　"It didn't spread its wings to fly for three years in order to grow full-fledged. It didn't cry for three years in order to carefully observe the conditions of the people in the world. This bird, once it flies, will soar high into the sky; once it cries, it will startle the world with a single cry."

　　“三年不展翅飛翔，是為了讓羽翼長(zhǎng)得更加豐滿(mǎn);三年不鳴，是在細(xì)心觀察天下的民情。這只鳥(niǎo)，不飛則已，一飛沖天;不鳴則已，一鳴驚人。”

　　Another half a year passed before King Zhuang of Chu began to personally administer state affairs. He abolished ten outmoded rules and regulations, issued nine new policies, sentenced five ministers to death for their evil deeds and promoted six persons with real talents. From then on, the State of Chu became stronger and stronger.

　　又過(guò)了半年，楚莊王開(kāi)始親自處理政事。他廢除了十項(xiàng)舊的規(guī)章制度;頒布了九項(xiàng)新的政策;處決了五個(gè)專(zhuān)干壞事的大臣;還提拔了六個(gè)真正有才能的人。從此，楚國(guó)終于強(qiáng)大起來(lái)了。