Groping about the Chin of the Black Dragon to Get a Pearl-Bringing Out the Best
Long,Long age,there lived a family by the Yellow River.They lived a very poor lift,depending on cutting reeds,weaving hanging screens and dustpans for a livelihood1.
One day,the son was cutting reeds by the riverside.With the scroching sun directly overhead,his head was swimming,so he sat down to take a rest.Looking at the river water in front which was his father had once told him.in the depths of the river there were a lot of rare treasures,but nobody dared to get them because a fierce black dragon was residing there.He thought that,if he could pe into the depts of the river and get the treasures,the whole family would not have to toil2 from morning till night and yet could not have enough to eat as now.He thought it would be better to have a try,and he was resolved to try in desperation.So he took off his clothes nimbly and ped into the cold water with a splash.
At first,he could see small fish here and there all around.However,the deeper he ped ,the darker it became,and the colder the river water.At last,it was pitch-dark all around,and he could see nothing.He became frightened,and was at a loss where he should swim to.Just at that time,he noticed a round object which was glittering not far away.He fixed3 his eyes on it,and saw it was a bright pearl.He held his breath and swam over there,held the pearl with both hands,pulled it with a great effort,and the bright pearl come into his arms.He came out from the water immediately,climbed up the bank,and made off for home at once.
His father saw the bright pearl,and asked where he had got it.He told his father the whole story exactly as it had happened.Hearing this,his father said repeatedly,How dangerous it was!This precious pearl was grown on the chin of the black dragon.The black dragon must have been sleeping when you were pulling the pearl.If the black dragon were awake,you would be dead.When the son heard this,he considered himself very lucky indeed.
This story appears in The Works of Zhuang Zi.From this story,later generations have derived4 the set phrase groping about the chin of the black dragon to get a pearl-- bringing out the best to indicate that an article is to the point.
有一天，儿子在河边割芦苇，烈日当空，晒得他头昏眼花，于是他就坐下来休息。他看着眼前的河水在阳光下闪耀着粼粼波光，想起爸爸说过，在河的最深处有很多珍宝，可是哪个也不敢去，由于那里住着一条凶猛的黑龙叫骊龙，他想，如果潜到河底，找到珍宝，大家一家人就用不着像目前如此一天干到晚，三顿还吃不饱，不如豁出去尝试一下。他把心一横，三下两下脱了衣服，一头扎进冰冷的河里。
开始他还看得见四周的小鱼在游来游去，再往深处，光线变得愈加暗，水也愈加凉，最后，他什么都看不见了，四周一团漆黑。他心里有点害怕，不知该往什么地方游。就在这个时候，不远处有一个圆圆的物体在闪闪发光，定睛细看，啊，原来是明珠！他憋足一口气游过去，双手抱住明珠，使劲一拽，明珠就到了他怀里。他飞速浮出水面，上岸后撒腿就往家跑。
爸爸一见明珠，就问他是从什么地方得到的。他把经过一五一十地向爸爸讲述一遍。爸爸听了说：好险哪！这颗价值千金的明珠是长在黑龙下巴底下的，你摘它的时候黑龙一定是睡着了。它如果醒着，你可就没命了。故事见于《庄子列御寇》。成语探骊得珠，比喻写文章能紧扣主题，抓住要素。
