A Silly Deer

Find out how a silly deer is killed and you'll learn an idiom describing someone who is very stubborn.

In today's program, we'll learn a new phrase meaning “incorrigibly stubborn.” The idiom reads, “zhi si bu wu.” It literally means “will never come to understand unto death.” Let's hear the story behind this idiom.

In ancient China, a hunter once captured a little deer. It was so cute that he decided to keep it as a pet.

The hunter also had a few dogs. When the dogs saw their master bring a little deer home, they started to push it around, and then wanted to eat it. The hunter was very angry. He shouted at the dogs to keep them away from the deer.

He said to himself, “If I can let the deer make friends with the dogs, probably the dogs won't bully it any more. And they won't eat it either.” He then carried the young deer to the dogs everyday. He let the dogs play with it, and stopped them when they started to bully it. After a while, the dogs seemed to understand what their master meant. Since they were afraid of their master, they obeyed him.

Also, the young deer found the dogs were very friendly animals, and began to see them as friends. It used its head to bump the dogs' tummies: it was great fun playing with them.

After three years, the deer was a fully grown deer, and not a timid little thing any more. One day, it went out and saw a few dogs playing. The deer thought the dogs would be as friendly as its friends at home, so it ran over to them and started to play with them. The dogs were both angry and happy. They were angry because the silly deer dared to play with them. They were happy, of course, because they could have a nice meal.

You can imagine what they did to the poor deer. Yes. They ate it! Even as it was drawing its last breath, the silly deer didn't understand what he had done wrong.

From this story, people drew the idiom “will never come to understand unto death.” We use it to describe those who are very stubborn, or stupid, and do not realize what they did wrong even when they die.

Ok, let's learn how to read it once again, “zhi si bu wu.” And this brings us to the end of today's Idioms and their Stories.