The Short-Tempered Boy
故事全文
Once upon a time, there was a short-tempered boy. His name was A-Ding. No one in the village wanted to play with him because he lost his temper easily. One day, A-Ding sat down in a corner with an angry look on his face because no one wanted to play with him. An old man asked A-Ding, "Do you know why no one wants to play with you?" A-Ding replied, "It is because I get angry easily. But I cannot help it." The old man gave A-Ding a bamboo tube and said, "This is an anger collecting tube. Hang it around your neck. Whenever you feel angry, you can shout at the tube or even hit it. The bamboo tube will collect your anger and make you feel less angry. However, you cannot get angry too often as the tube will burst once it is full!" After saying this, the old man disappeared.
A-Ding still lost his temper easily, but because he had the bamboo tube, he stopped shouting at people. Instead, the poor bamboo tube collected his anger and grew larger each day. One day, the old man appeared again and pointed at A-Ding's bamboo tube. "What is this?" he asked. "This is the anger collecting tube you gave me!" replied A-Ding.
The old man asked again, "What did you say?" A-Ding grew impatient. "An anger collecting tube! Why do you keep asking the same question?" A-Ding hit the bamboo tube furiously. Suddenly, the bamboo tube burst open! A-Ding was so upset he started to cry. The old man said, "See? You still get angry easily. If you are determined not to be so short-tempered, you will find that you do not need a bamboo tube at all." A-Ding finally understood what the old man meant. He had to control his own temper. From then on, he became good and polite child and everyone liked to make friends with him.
