中国民俗小故事

七夕的来历 农历七月七日旧称七夕，也叫乞巧节。相传是牛郎、织女在鹊桥相会的日子，关于乞巧指的是向织女乞取智巧。 关于牛郎、织女的传说，已是家喻户晓，由来已久。《诗·小雅·大东》说：“维天有汉，监亦有光。胶彼织女，终日七襄。虽则七襄，不成报章。皖彼牵牛，不以服箱。”这是牛郎、织女神话传说的雏型，这时，织女、牵牛还只是天河二星，并无神的色彩，虽然诗中提到了织女“报章”、牵牛“服箱”，但这也只是就这两颗星的名称生发的联想。然而值得注意的是，这一联想正是后来牛郎织女传说的催发剂。到了汉代，牵牛、织女便由星变成了神，有了鹊桥相会的说法。唐韩鄂《岁华纪丽》引《风俗通》说：“织女七夕当渡河，使鹊为桥。”宋陈元靓《岁时广记》引《淮南子》说：“乌鹊填河成桥而渡织女。”再看汉末的《古诗十九铁：“迢迢牵牛星，皎皎河汉文。纤纤摸索手，札札弄机押。终日不成章，泣涕零如雨。河汉清且浅，相去复几许。盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语。”这诗中不仅说出了牛郎与织女相思相恋的夫妻关系，而且织女的神的形象已隐现其中。大概牛郎织女悲欢离合的故事在汉代就已经基本定型了。南朝梁殷芸的〈小说说：“‘天河之东有织女，天帝之子也。年年机抒劳役，织成云锦天衣，容貌不暇整。帝怜其独处，许嫁河西牵牛郎，后遂废织经。天帝怒，责令归河东，但使一年一度相会。”这个牛郎织女神话故事的梗概，虽然在文献的记载中出于南北朝时代，但人们有理由认为它是对汉代牛郎织女传说的追述，不然，七夕相会之说就无从说起。后来，牛郎织女的传说在民间又被不断地丰富情节、注人民情，于是，这一传说更为故事化了。在民间传说中，织女为天帝之孙、王母娘娘之外孙，织布之暇，常浴于银河。牛郎则为人间一孤儿，备受兄嫂虐待，分家时仅分予一老牛。时天地相去不远，银河与凡间通连。牛郎遵老牛之嘱，去银河窃得织女天衣，织女不能去，遂结为夫妻。经数年，得一儿一女，男耕女织，幸福和美。不料天帝查知此事，怒遣天神捉逮，王母恐天神疏虞，亦亲往。织女被捉，号哭与夫及子女痛别。时老牛垂死，嘱牛郎剖其皮，衣之登天。牛郎如其言，担子女追去，且及，王母拔簪划空，顿成滚滚天河。牛郎织女隔河相望，只有悲泣。后终感动天帝，许其每年七夕鹊桥相会。七夕这一民间节日就源起于这个神话传说，七夕的节日风俗也与这一神话传说有着渊源关系。

nothing to sell and nothing to buy 不卖也不买 　　it has been said that everyone lives by selling something. in the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort. though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. there are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service. the conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. everyone has something to sell. 　　tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. but real tramps are not beggars. they have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. in seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. a tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him. he has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences. he may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. his few material possession make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. by having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do. he may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom we often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?