Storyteller: Days ago, when I chatted with roommates, I played with my comb trying to unbend it. Suddenly, I broke it into two pieces! My heart broke up, since this boxwood comb was a gift from my father. And I’ve already kept it well for twelve years! I cursed myself and prayed that there could be a miracle as if I didn’t do that stupid thing. Yet, nothing happened. Real life is not as digital world, in which when we press “undo” button or “Ctrl-z”, the things we lose will …

Storyteller: You must remember this: in the end of infamous “TITANIC”(1998) movie, old Rose walks alone to the stern of the salvage ship and opens her hands to reveal the necklace, which she has kept all of her life. She lets the necklace fall from her hand and into the water.
When I was in the cinema, I definitely felt how disappointed and regretful the audiences were when they saw the diamond lost deep into the ocean — Oh no, it’s lost forever.
Have you ever dropped something into the water when …

Storyteller: Last month, I told a story “Satisfying Hunger with Picture Cakes“. It tells people not to rely on unrealistic fantasy. Today, I will tell a similar story: “Quenching thirst by watching plums”.  The idea within this Chinese idiom is pretty close the “picture cake” one.  Sometimes, people use these two idioms together, and in most cases, one can replace the other in a dialogue or context. However, given the stories behind the two idioms, there is a little difference between the exact meaning of two idioms. “Drawing a picture …

Storyteller: Today I will tell a story about a world-wide popular idiom. According to wikipedia, there are at least 29 different versions of this idiom in different languages. The English version is: “Pot calling the kettle black”.
50 steps laughing at 100 steps
During the Warring States Period of China, there was a king in the state of Liang. He liked to drive his people into war fighting with neighboring states. One day, he met Mencius, and asked: “As a king, I think I govern the state fairly well.  If there is …

Storyteller: Look at the pie picture on the right. Isn’t it delicious? At the moment of looking at it, probably you start to secret saliva and your stomach starts to rumble. But stop! You remind yourself: “It’s just a picture. Don’t feed on illusions”. In english, we use this phrase “to feed on illusions” to describe unrealistic fantasy. In Chinese, there is a idiom and a story for the same idea.
Satisfying Hunger with Picture Cakes
During the period of Three Kingdoms (208-280 A.D.), there was a man named Lu, Yu in …