《望梅止渴》成语英译与典故

七十、望梅止渴

三国时期有一天，

曹操领兵去征战，

途中士兵皆口渴，

附近无处觅水源。

曹操心内正焦急，

忽有一计浮心田，

传令说：

“前边有片梅树林，

结的梅子甜又酸，

梅林不远马上到，

摘吃解渴又解馋。”

大家听了此令后，

个个心中都喜欢。

条件反射起作用，

顿觉口水似涌泉。

“望梅止渴”作成语，

是用想象中事物作慰安。

Quench One's Thirst by Thinking of Plums

One day during the period of the Three Kingdoms（220—265A.D.），Cao Cao led his soldiers to fight a battle.On the way his soldiers were all feeling thirst⁃y，but there was no water nearby.Cao Cao got wor⁃ried in his heart，when suddenly an idea occurred in his mind.

Then he let his order be passed down：“There are plum trees ahead，and the plums on the trees are sweets and sour.We'll get there in no time，then you'll be plucking and eating them.”When the sol⁃diers all heard the command，they soon felt their mouths watering.

The idiom“Quench One's Thirst by Thinking of Plums”usually means to console oneself with false hopes.