《杞（qǐ）人忧天》成语英译与典故

五十三、杞（qǐ）人忧天

从前楚国有个人，

他整天忧愁眉不展，

老担心头上青天会坠落，

更害怕脚底大地会塌陷。

他饭不想吃觉难睡，

朋友见状很纳闷。

问清原因开导他，

叫他不必生愁烦，

对他讲头上青天是大气，

脚下大地土石连。

日月星辰不会掉，

大地无边不塌陷。

不必为此生烦恼，

人生在世应乐观。

这人听后开了窍，

朋友心中也喜欢。

“杞人忧天”无道理，

空生忧愁是愚憨。

The Man of Qi Fears the Falling of Sky

Once there was a man in the State of Qi，who was always knitting his brows and was nervous.He was worrying that the sky might fall，and he was wor⁃rying the earth might subside.

He didn't feel like eating and couldn't manage to sleep，and their friends were all puzzled when they knew it.When they found out what the cause was，they told him not to worry any more，saying that the blue sky was but the atmosphere，and the earth be⁃neath our feet was soil and stone joined together；the sun，the moon and the stars would never fall，and the boundless ground would never dent.

There was no need to be troubled about such things.One should be optimistic about life and about the world.The man now understood and became wi⁃ser，and his friends were all delighted.It makes no sense for the man of Qi to fear the sky falling，and it's a folly to worry oneself about nothing at all.