苏秦为赵王使于秦
Su Qin Was on a Diplomatic Mission to Qin on Behalf of Zhao
【原文】
苏秦为赵王使于秦，反，三日不得见。谓赵王曰广秦乃者过柱山， 有两木焉，一盖呼侣，一盖哭^问其故，对曰：‘吾已大矣，年已长矣，吾苦夫匠人且以绳墨案规矩刻镂我’一盖曰：‘此非吾所苦也，是故吾事 也。吾所苦夫铁钴然，自人而出夫人者。’今臣使于秦，而三日不见，无有谓臣为铁钻者乎？”
【今译】
苏秦为赵王出使秦国，回来后，三天都不能见到赵王。他对赵王 说我去秦国路过柱上，那里有两棵树，一棵好像在呼唤伴侣，一棵好 像在哭泣。问它们为什么，一棵回答说：‘我已经长大了，年岁很大了， 我痛苦是因为工E即将用绳墨测量我并且用规矩雕刻我^另一棵好似 说：‘这不是我所感到苦恼的，这本来就是我们该做的事。我感到痛心 的是铁楔，它进入我们的身体里后又出来。’如今我出使秦国，然而回来 三天了还不能见到您，没有人说我是个铁楔吗？”
Su Qin went to the state of Qin on a diplomatic mission for the state of Zhao, After he came back, he didn’t have the chance to see the king of Zhao until three days later. He told the king of Zhao, “When I passed by Mount Zhu in the state of Qin, I saw two trees there. One seemed to be shouting at its partner and the other was crying. I asked them the reason. One tree said，‘I am fully grown and very old, I am afraid that craftsmen might soon measure me and chisel me with their tools. ‘ The other said, ‘This doesn’t bother me， because this is what we are for. What worries me is the iron wedge. It wedges into us and then leaves us. ‘You sent me on a diplomatic mission to the state of Qin. But I was unable to see you till three days after 1 came back. Hasn’t anyone told you that I am also an iron wedge?”