To Try To Help The Shoots Grow By Pulling Them Upward

There once was a farmer who was always in a hurry. Right from the day he planted his seeds, he hoped to have an early harvest. He went to look at his field every day, wishing that the seeds would grow.

The seeds finally did begin to sprout into tender green seedlings, but the farmer was still not satisfied. He felt that they were growing too slowly. And so one day, he went into his field and pulled each seedling up, so that they were all a little taller than before. It took him all day, but the farmer was very pleased with himself.

The next morning, when the farmer's family went out to look at what he had done, every one of the little seedlings was dead.

Today, this idiom means that trying to hurry things up, rather than letting them take their own course, may be harmful rather than beneficial.

揠苗助長

有一個急性的農人，自從播種那天開始，就盼望早早兒地收成。他天天都到田邊兒去看，希望種子快點兒發芽長大。

他播的種子終於發芽了，慢慢長成了一棵棵嫩綠的秧苗。可是農人並不滿意，他嫌那些秧苗長得太慢，心裡非常著急。有一天，他實在忍不住了，就把一棵秧苗試著拔高了一點兒。果然不錯，這棵秧苗比別棵高了一截兒。他高興地自言自語說：「這個辦法真不錯，瞧吧！我一定比別人早收成。」他接著一棵一棵的秧苗都拔高了一點兒。拔完了一行又一行，一直工作到天黑了才回家。他很得意地告訴家人說：「我今天在田裡幫助秧苗長高了。你們明天早上就去看看吧！」

第一天一大早，大家都去看。他拔過的秧苗都垂下了頭，乾死了。