West from the small hill for one hundred and twenty steps, beyond the bamboo grove, I heard the sound of water, like the tinkling of jade pendants, which gladdened my heart. I cut through the bamboo to make a path, and descending, I saw a small pond, the water exceptionally clear and cold. The bottom was one solid rock, which near the shore, curled up to form islets, islets, rocky crags, and cliffs. Green trees and emerald vines covered, entwined, shook, and hung down in uneven layers.
In the pond, there were about a hundred fish, which all seemed to swim in empty space with nothing to rely on. Sunlight pierced down, casting their shadows upon the stones. Motionless one moment, suddenly darting away the next, coming and going swiftly, they seemed to be taking pleasure with the visitors.
Looking southwest from the pond, the stream wound like the Dipper and crawled like a snake, visible and invisible in parts. Its banks were jagged like dog’s teeth, irregular and interlocking, and its source could not be known.
Sitting by the pond, surrounded on all sides by bamboo and trees, empty and silent, no one in sight, I felt a chill to the bone and a profound melancholy. The place was too desolate to linger, so I recorded this and left.
My companions were Wu Wuling, Gong Gu, my younger brother Zongxuan. Those who followed us were two young men of the Cui family, named Shuji and Fengyi.
小石潭记
柳宗元（唐）
从小丘西行百二十步，隔篁竹，闻水声，如鸣珮环，心乐之。伐竹取道，下见小潭，水尤清冽。全石以为底，近岸，卷石底以出，为坻，为屿，为嵁，为岩。青树翠蔓，蒙络摇缀，参差披拂。
潭中鱼可百许头，皆若空游无所依。日光下澈，影布石上。佁然不动，俶尔远逝，往来翕忽，似与游者相乐。
潭西南而望，斗折蛇行，明灭可见。其岸势犬牙差互，不可知其源。
坐潭上，四面竹树环合，寂寥无人，凄神寒骨，悄怆幽邃。以其境过清，不可久居，乃记之而去。
同游者：吴武陵，龚古，余弟宗玄。隶而从者，崔氏二小生，曰恕己，曰奉壹。
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