To Hang Books On The Ox's Horn

In ancient times, there lived a boy named Li Mi, who loved to read. He never wasted a single minute, but spent all of his spare time every day reading.

One day, Li Mi had to go to a faraway place to take care of some business. Not wanting to waste any time on the way there, he took all of the books that he wanted to read and hung them on one of the horns of his ox. He then climbed up onto his ox's back, and with a book in one hand and the reins in the other, began his journey.

On the way, Li Mi was spotted by Yang Su, a very well-known scholar of the time. Not wishing to interrupt Li Mi while he was so absorbed in his reading, Yang Su instead followed behind the ox, waiting until Li Mi looked up to get a new book. Yang Su then rode up to Li Mi and greeted him, praising him highly for his attitude towards reading.

Today, we can say that a person who is son diligent in his studies that he finds a way to make use of every minute is "Hanging Books On The Ox's Horn."

牛角掛書

古時候，有一個人名叫李密，非常喜歡讀書。每天從早到晚從來不浪費一分鐘，所有的時間都在看書。

有一次，要到遠地方去辦事，他擔心在路上躭誤時間太多。出門前想了一個可以一面趕路一面讀書的好辦法。自己用草編了個鞍子放在牛背上，把要看的書掛在牛角上。就這樣他可以舒服地騎在牛背上，一手拿著書，一手牽著韁縄，一邊趕路一邊看書。在路上剛好遇到個很有地位的人─楊素。他看到李密專心讀書的樣子，不想打攪，就跟在李密後面，一直等到李密轉頭想換一本書，纔上前打招呼，還連連誇獎李密專心讀書的態度。

今天我們可用「牛角掛書」來形容一個人找到方法來用盡他的每分每秒學習。