Tradition has it that many,many years ago,there
lived on the Yellow River a river god known as He Bo.One day ,He Bo
stood on the riverbank and watched the turbulent waves from the
west surging forward to the east.He said both excitedly and
conceitedly:"How big the Yellow River is !No other river on earth
can compare with it.And therefore I am the greatest river
god."
One man
said to him,"You are wrong.There is a place to the east of the
Yellow Rivers called the North Sea.The North Sea is really big."He
Bo said,"I don't believe it .Big as the North Sea is, can it be
bigger than Yellow River?"The man said,"Should the water of several
Yellow River flow into the North sea,it could not fill the North
Sea,let alone one Yellow River. "
He Bo
said obstinately,"I don't believe it,for I have never been to the
North Sea."
Having
no alternative,the man said,"You will not be able to" understand
what I mean until you have a chance to see the North Sea for
yourself."
Winter
came,and torrential rain had been falling for days on end.Rivers
big and small emptied themselves into the Yellow River,making the
Yellow River even broader.Standing on one side of the river,people
could hardly tell what animals the oxen and horses on the other
side of the river were.Thus He Bo was even more proud,thinking that
all the magnificent sights were accumulated here.Then ,remembering
the North Sea which had been mentioned to him before,he decided to
go there and have a look.
He went
downstream,and arrived at the river mouth to the sea.Suddenly,the
god of the North Sea,whose name was Biennia Ruo,appeared before his
eyes.With a smile,Beihai Ruo was welcoming He Bo to the North
sea.He looked ahead,and saw that the North Sea,with its vast
expanse of water,was boundless.With a dull look in his eyes,He Bo
stood there for a while.Finally he said to Beihai Ruo with deep
feeling,"As the common saying goes,some people go so far as to
think that they are more knowledgeable than anybody else when they
have got some knowledge.Actually I am one of such people.If I had
not seen with that the Yellow River is matchless in the world.If I
remained like that, I would be laughed at for ever by sensible
people."