古代寓言原是民间口头创作，文学体裁的一种。含有讽喻或明显教训意义的故事。它的结构简短。主人公可以是人，可以是动物，也可以是无生物。多借用比喻手法，使富有教训意义的主题或深刻的道理在简单的故事中体现，而还需要自己去理解，思考，这就是和西方寓言的不同之处。

《古代寓言·瞎子问太阳》

生而眇者不识日，问之有目者。

或者之曰：“日之状如铜盘。”扣盘而得其声，他曰，闻钟以为日也。

或告之曰：“日之光为日也。”扪烛而得其形，他曰，揣籥以为日也。

日之与钟籥亦远而眇者不知其异，以其未尝见而求之人也。

——《苏轼文集》

What does the Sun Look Like?

A man who was born blind wanted to know what the sun looked like, so he asked others to describe it.

"It looks like this, like a bronze disc," said one, rapping a gong as he spoke. Some time later, when the blind man heard a gong, he said, "Isn’t that the sun?"

Another told him, "The sun has light like this candle," and let him feel the candle. Some time later, the blind man picked up a flute and exclaimed, "Ah! This is surely the sun."

A sun is a far cry from a gong or a flute, but the blind cannot make out the difference because they cannot see and have to ask others

Collected Essays of Su Shi

（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）

更多精品翻译素材，敬请关注可可英语。