As the legend goes, during ancient times, in the expansive open county of North China, there was a kind of bird called "rocs".

　　The roc was very huge, with its back like a big mountain, and its wings like a stretch of cloud which could cover the sky. When it spread its wings, it could break through a storm and soar at a height of 90000 li (1/2 kilometre) in the sky towards the sea in the south.

　　A small bird called the quail1 bounced on the ground, free and happy. It looked up at the roc soaring in the sky and couldn’t help laughing.

　　"Hey, see how cocky you are! Look at me, one jump can take me over 10 Chi. How delightful2! Every day I come and go amid these weeds and thickets3 and fly freely. Don't I fly quite well too? But, where can you fly to anyway?"

　　傳說，古時(shí)候中國北方的原野上有一種鳥，它的名字叫“鵬”。

　　鵬長得很大，背脊像一座大山，翅膀像一片云，能把天空遮住。它張開翅膀能沖破風(fēng)暴，在九萬里高的天空中飛翔，一直飛向南方的大海。

　　有一只鷃雀的小鳥，在地上蹦蹦跳跳，自由自在，非常快活。它望著天空中展翅飛翔的大鵬，忍不住發(fā)笑，說：

　　“咳，看你神氣活現(xiàn)的！我呀，一蹦一跳，就有十幾尺，多么痛快??！我每天在這些雜草和樹叢里，來來去去，自由飛翔，不也飛得挺好嗎？可是，你又能飛到哪里去呢？”