從前，有個人說:

"The pear is good for the teeth, but bad for the spleen; the date is good for the spleen, but bad for the teeth."

“吃生梨對牙齒有好處，但是會傷脾;吃紅棗對脾有好處，但是會損害牙齒�！�

A young man heard this, thought it over for a long time and said:

一個年輕人聽了這句話，想了很久，說道:

"Then, when I eat a pear, I'll keep it in my mouth and chew it with my teeth, but won't swallow it, so it will not do any harm to my spleen. When I eat a date, I won't chew it, but will swallow it whole, so it will not do any harm to my teeth."

“那我吃生梨的時候，就含在嘴里，用牙齒咀嚼，但是不往肚里咽，它就損傷不了我的脾。吃棗的時候，我把它整個兒吞下去，不去咀嚼，這樣就不會損害我的牙齒了。”

When people heard this, they jeered at him:

人們聽了他的話，譏笑說:

"You are swallowing a date whole!"

“你這是在回回吞棗啊!”