To Offer The Warmth Of The Sun

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Sung, there was an old farmer who lived a very thrifty and simple life. He lived in a hut made of bamboo, and wore tattered clothes made of cotton.

When winter came, the weather turned so cold that the farmer could not stop shivering. Even when he put on all of his clothes, he still was not warm enough. He wanted to build a fire, but the fuel was too expensive. He really didn't know how he would ever make it through the winter.

Day by day, the winter passed; the sky cleared, and the sun came out. The farmer moved a stool outside, and sat there enjoying the warm sunshine. He said to his wife, "Warming oneself in the sun is a wonderful thing which others have not yet discovered. I am going to take this sun and present it to our king. I will show him how much we care for him by offering him the very best we have. I'm sure the king will be very pleased."

Today, people can use this idiom to express modesty when giving a gift to someone else. It means that the gift is not very expensive or valuable.

獻曝之忱

古時候，宋國有一個種田的老農夫，他一輩子過著很儉樸的生活，住的是竹子蓋的茅屋，穿的是破舊的粗布衣服，都市裡的高樓大廈，有錢人穿的棉襖啦，皮衣啦，他從來就沒看見過。到了冬天，天氣很冷，凍得老農夫一直打哆嗦，翻翻櫃子，只有幾件破衣服，全都穿上也不怎麼暖和。後來他想可以用烘火爐烤火，可是燃料又很貴，真不知道怎樣過這個寒冷的冬天。

日子一天一天的過去了，天晴了太陽出來了，老農夫搬個小板凳，坐在門前曬著暖和的太陽，實在太舒服了。他對老伴兒說：「曬太陽取暖這個辦法，是別人還不知道的妙法兒，我準備背著暖和的太陽，去獻給我們的國王，用我們家最好的東西，表示我們的心意，我想國王一定很會高興。」