Chapter Five: LEARNING TO BE TRUSTWORTHY

凡出言，信为先，诈与妄，奚可焉。
话说多，不如少，惟其是，勿佞巧。
苛薄语，秽污词，市井气，切戒之。
见未真，勿轻言，知未的，勿轻传。
事非宜，勿轻诺，苟轻诺，进退错。
见人善，即思齐，纵去远，以渐跻。
见人恶，即内省，有则改，无加警。
凡道字，重且舒，勿急疾，勿模糊。
彼说长，此说短，不关己，莫闲管。
惟德学，惟才艺，不如人，常自励。
若衣服，若饮食，不如人，勿生戚。
闻过怒，闻誉喜，损友来，益友却。
闻誉恐，闻过欣，直谅士，渐相亲。
无心非，名为错，有心非，名为恶。
过能改，归于无，倘掩饰，增一辜。

有句话说﹕「口开神气散。」的确！话说多了是很伤神。所以当父母师长苦口婆心谆谆教诲我们时，不要嫌他们唠叨，反而应该听从，以表敬重；须知他们正在呕心沥血，耗损着自己的生命来教化我们哩！但是，假如有人以串门聊天为乐，这种人就算因此耗神短命，也不值得敬重了！为什么呢？

It is said, "When the mouth opens, one’s energy scatters." It’s true! Talking a lot can really be exhausting. And so when our parents or teachers earnestly admonish us, instead of being annoyed at their fussing, we should respectfully obey their words. We should realize that they are expending their life-blood and energy to teach us. However, people who exhaust themselves through idle chatter do not deserve our respect. Why not?

你或许会说﹕有的人只是话多，心里头藏不住一点儿秘密，并不两舌恶口，应该不算大毛病吧？其实不然。须知「舌动是非生」，即使那个人不存心搬弄是非，是非已经由口耳相传，而在空气中浮沉泛滥，最后还是难免弄到有人生气，有人伤心，甚至引发悲剧，更别提一些个故意搬弄是非，或是绮语妄言的人了！所以没事最好少开口，非说不可时，也应有凭有据，长话短说；切不可加油添醋，以免「祸从口出」，损人又不利己，何苦来哉？

You might say, "Some people are just talkative because they cannot keep things to themselves. If they do not cause dissension or say mean things, talking should not be a big offense." Actually, that is not so. You should know, "When the tongue wags, there is bound to be gossip." Even if the person did not mean to gossip, his words are spread by word of mouth and float in the air; it is very likely that someone will end up getting upset or hurt, even to the point that a tragedy occurs. How much the worse it is if someone deliberately spreads rumors or speaks profane or false words. Therefore, it is best to avoid talking when possible, and when it is absolutely necessary, speak only the facts and don’t ramble on and on. At all costs, avoid exaggerating or embellishing the truth, for "disasters emerge from the mouth." Such talk hurts others and is unbeneficial to oneself, so why speak it？

在古早的台湾民俗故事里，「白贼七」是个家喻户晓的小人物。他怎么叫做白贼七呢？「白贼」，是闽南语「骗子」、「谎话」或「欺骗」的意思。他在大家族排行第七，自小父母双亡，跟着叔婶过活。他不但反应敏捷，口才也好极了。见了什么人，遇着什么事，他无不唱作俱佳，绘声绘影地把没的说成有了，死的也说活转过来，只可惜都是谎话顺口溜，所以才得了这个不雅的外号。若要讲他那些令人啼笑皆非的恶作剧 ，可真是三天三夜也说不完。因此村子里的人见了他 ，莫不敬而远之，以免成了他捉弄的对象。

In ancient Taiwanese folklore, there is a character named White Thief Seven. How did he get such a name? White Thief is the Taiwanese term meaning a fraud, a lie, or to cheat. He was the seventh child in his family. Orphaned at a young age, he lived with his uncle and aunt. He was both quick-witted and a good talker. No matter whom he met or what the situation was, he was able to tell such a convincing story that he could create something out of nothing and bring the dead back to life. It’s too bad that everything he said was a lie, which is how he got his unflattering nickname. We could spend three days and nights telling his malicious deeds that left people not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and we still would not finish. The village people all kept a respectful distance, so as not to become the objects of his jests.

有一天傍晚，又有户被捉弄的人家气呼呼地上门来告状，他叔叔气得七窍生烟，把他锁到柴房里去，也不给晚饭吃。夜里天冷，他只穿一件单衣，又饿又冻，好不难过；没办法，他只好在房里头打圈儿跑，跑得气喘吁吁，汗流浃背。这时，他婶婶不忍他冻着，悄悄来看他，只见他热呼呼地身上还冒烟呢，真是十分惊讶。白贼七就说﹕「婶婶，您不晓得吧？我这是件宝衣，冬暖夏凉。神仙见我可怜，给了我穿，您可不能说出这秘密哇！」

One evening, yet another family that had been the victim of his practical jokes came to complain to the uncle. The uncle was so furious that he locked "White Thief Seven" in the wood shed without dinner. It was very cold at night, and he was only wearing a single layer of clothing. Hungry and cold, he practiced boxing and jogged around the room until he was breathing hard and sweating profusely. At that moment, his aunt, feeling sorry for him, quietly came to take a look at him. She was amazed to see that he was warm to the point steaming. White Thief Seven said, "Auntie, this is a precious shirt I have here, which keeps me warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The gods took pity on me and gave it to me to wear. But don’t tell anyone--it’s a secret!"

婶婶羡慕地想用身上的夹袄和他换，白贼七推托了一会，才不舍地把衣脱下，边说﹕「 婶婶养我这么多年，就算我孝敬您老人家吧！」于是他换上夹袄，回房里舒舒服服睡大觉去了，把只穿着他那件单衣的婶婶锁在柴房里试验宝衣的功效。天亮了，叔叔开了柴房一看，血气衰弱的婶婶早冻死在那儿了。叔叔气疯了，把白贼七自被窝里抓起，装进麻袋，用麻绳绑紧袋口，扛到了河边往水里头一扔。

The aunt enviously eyed his shirt and offered to trade her own padded jacket with him. White Thief Seven thought for a while, and then took off his shirt with a show of great reluctance, saying, "You have raised me all these years, and now I have really been filial to you!" Then he put on her padded jacket and went into the house for a comfortable snooze, locking the poor aunt in the woodshed to try out his precious shirt. The next morning, the uncle opened the woodshed to find the frail aunt frozen to death. Insane with fury, he yanked White Thief Seven from his cozy nest, shoved him into a burlap sack, tied it shut tightly, and carried it to the river bank, where he threw it into the river.

可是也不知是叔叔体力不足，扔得不够远，还是白贼七命大，这麻绳被浅水处漂来的树枝钩住，麻袋就没沉下；白贼七竟松脱了绳子，爬出麻袋，游回岸上。他拖着那麻袋，抄小路走，在叔叔回家的路上出现，叔叔惊吓得像撞着了鬼似的。白贼七又信口胡诌道﹕「我坐这宝贝麻袋到龙宫玩了一趟，要不是惦念您老人家，我还不想回来哩！」又形容龙宫多么美轮美奂，食物又是山珍海味；叔叔羡慕得不断央求他﹕「我老得快进棺材了，也没见识过龙宫，你就让我去玩一会吧！」白贼七装着很勉强地答应了。

But either his strength was insufficient or he did not throw the sack far enough, or White Thief Seven was fated to live, for the sack was snagged by some branches and did not sink. White Thief Seven loosened the rope, slipped out of the bag, and swam to shore. Dragging the bag, he took the back roads and appeared in the path of his uncle, who was on his way home. The uncle was scared out his wits, thinking it was a ghost. White Thief Seven said, "I sat in the precious bag and went to the Dragon Palace to play for a while. I would still be there now, except that I came back because I missed you!" He went onto describe how magnificent the Dragon Palace was, with its exotic delicacies. The uncle enviously begged, "I’m nearly in the grave, and I’ve never even seen the Dragon Palace. Can you let me go once?" With feigned reluctance, White Thief Seven agreed.

叔侄俩于是到了河边，叔叔等不及地先钻进麻袋里去了；白贼七再加进一块大石头，绑紧袋口往深水处一扔，然后回家去享用叔叔的家产了。这白贼七后来恶贯满盈，成了众矢之的，据说死得很惨；不只这样，恐怕死后魂魄还要在无边地狱受拔舌耕犁、灌屎灌尿的苦，永无出期呢！你们想想﹕这岂不是害人又误己？。

They both went to the river bank, and the uncle impatiently jumped into the sack first. White Thief Seven then added a big stone, tied up the bag tightly, and threw the bag into the deep part of the river. Then he went home to enjoy himself on his uncle’s family estate. White Thief Seven later did so many wicked deeds that he is said to have been the target of every arrow. He died in a brutal way, and after death his soul probably went to the Unintermittent Hells to eternally suffer having his tongue ripped out and being drenched with urine and excrement. Think it over﹕ Is this not a case of banning others as well as oneself?

所以，教育子弟就要从小要求严格，务求谨言笃行，实事求是；绝不能放纵他们在街坊店肆间流连，学来油滑虚浮的口舌，或是江湖浪子的行径。等到他们荒唐事积少成多，由小变大，到发生巨害或重案时，再要收拾烂摊子已收拾不了，想管教又管教不来时，不只孩子一生毁了，家庭也破碎了，那就悔之晚矣！

Therefore, one should teach children strictly and insist on honesty. Never let them roam through the streets, where they pick up slippery ways of talking and learn the manners of vagabonds. When their minor misdeeds add up to the point that a major crime or major harm is done, it will be impossible to rectify the situation. When you want to discipline children and can no longer do it, not only will the children’s lives be ruined, but the family will be broken, and it will be too late for regret.