本冊(cè)有三個(gè)故事，故事的核只有一個(gè)，即“極限”。
目之能及之處，最遠(yuǎn)有多遠(yuǎn)？烏龜國(guó)王耶爾特堅(jiān)信，他目光所及的一切就等同于他統(tǒng)治的疆域。以池塘邊的石頭為寶座，目力所及只有池塘，所見(jiàn)的范圍極小，自然他的統(tǒng)治范圍也小得可憐。耶爾特?cái)U(kuò)充疆域的唯一辦法就是站得高看得遠(yuǎn)，但是當(dāng)他還在叫囂著建筑一個(gè)由五千，五千六百零七只烏龜堆起的寶座，他腳下兩百只烏龜堆起的寶座已經(jīng)岌岌可危了。
尾巴上長(zhǎng)出多少根羽毛才是最關(guān)？小雌鳥(niǎo)絨絨以為自然是越多越美。如此瘋狂強(qiáng)求的結(jié)果竟然是尾大不掉，畫(huà)地為牢，只有忍痛退回原處之一途。
無(wú)庸置疑，物極必反。但蘇斯博士顯然遠(yuǎn)不就此止步。在接下來(lái)的《吹牛》中，老蟲(chóng)子的出現(xiàn)是《吹牛》一篇的結(jié)束，也是本冊(cè)總體的一個(gè)收束。以世界上最靈敏的聽(tīng)覺(jué)和嗅覺(jué)，究竟誰(shuí)能抵達(dá)最遠(yuǎn)？兔子和熊海拼不下，不堪煩擾的老蟲(chóng)子出來(lái)做了了斷，對(duì)種種鼠目寸光、妄自尊大者的嘲諷真是無(wú)以復(fù)加。烏龜耶爾特的目力與老蟲(chóng)子的目力不可同日而語(yǔ)。耶爾特自從一頭跌入池塘，其目力所及便只有爛泥巴了；而無(wú)比矮小的老蟲(chóng)子即使深處于地洞里，他飛掠的目光也能將整個(gè)世界盡收眼底。物有限止，心靈無(wú)涯。只有游心者的目光才能弗遠(yuǎn)無(wú)界。
蘇斯博士的“致遠(yuǎn)”是收放自如、縱橫捭闔，最終還要回到起點(diǎn)，也即當(dāng)下。仿佛無(wú)所從來(lái)，亦無(wú)所從去。
In this hilarious book, featuring three timeless fables, Dr. Seuss explores the pitfalls of growing too big for your boots! With his unique combination of hilarious stories, zany pictures and riotous rhymes, Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children and helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat, and ranking among the UK's top ten favourite children's authors, Seuss is firmly established as a global best-seller, with nearly half a million books sold worldwide. This delightful book forms part of the third stage in HarperCollins' major Dr. Seuss rebrand programme. With the relaunch of six more titles in January 2004, such all-time favourites as The Lorax, The Foot Book and Yertle the Turtle boast bright new covers that incorporate much needed guidance on reading levels: Blue Back Books are for parents to share with young children, Green Back Books are for budding readers to tackle on their own, and Yellow Back Books are for older, more fluent readers to enjoy. Yertle the Turtle and other stories belongs to the Yellow Back Book range.
Yertle's story leads off with his attempt to build a bigger kingdom on the backs of his loyal subjects (literally). King of everything he can see, Yertle orders his turtles to stack up under him to build a towering throne. ("He made each turtle stand on another one's back and he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.") But a plain little turtle named Mack--stuck at the bottom--decides he's had enough. ("I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!")
蘇斯，二十世紀(jì)最卓越的兒童文學(xué)作家之一，一生創(chuàng)作48種精彩繪本，作品被翻譯成20多種文字和盲文，全球銷量逾2.5億冊(cè)，曾獲美國(guó)圖畫(huà)書(shū)最高榮譽(yù)凱迪克大獎(jiǎng)和普利策特殊貢獻(xiàn)獎(jiǎng)，兩次獲奧斯卡金像獎(jiǎng)和艾美獎(jiǎng)，美國(guó)教育部指定的重要閱讀輔導(dǎo)讀物。
Theodor Seuss Giesel -- better known to millions of his fans as Dr. Seuss -- was born the son of a park superintendant in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904. After studying at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, and later at Oxford University in England, he became a magazine humourist and cartoonist, and an advertising man. He soon turned his many talents to writing children's books, and his first book -- And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street -- was published in 1937. His greatest claim to fame was the one and only The Cat in the Hat, published in 1957, the first of a hugely successful range of early learning books.
