魯恭爲中牟令，重德化，不任刑罰。袁安聞之，疑其不實，陰使人往視之。隨恭行阡陌，俱坐桑下。有雉過，止其旁，旁有兒童。其人曰：“兒何不捕之？”兒言雉方雛，不得捕。其人訝而起，與恭決曰：“所以來者，欲察君之政績也。今蝗不犯境，此一異也；愛及鳥獸，此二異也；童有仁心，此三異也。久留徒擾賢者耳，吾將速反，以狀白安。”     

Lu Gong used to be the magistrate of Zhong Mou, who governed his people through education rather than punishment. Sir Yuan An heard of the deeds of Lu but suspected the veracity. So, he sent a man secretly to see if it was true. The man and Lu strolled on a field path and then sat under a mulberry tree. A pheasant happened to pass and stopped where a kid was nearby. The man asked the kid why he not caught the pheasant. The kid answered that it is a young pheasant, which is not allowed to be caught. Surprised, the man stood up and confessed to Lu, "The purpose of my trip this time was to review your different performance. First, there is no locust plague; second, you protect wildlife well; third, the children are benevolent. The longer I stay here, the more I would hinder you from doing good deeds. So, I will get back at once, reporting to Sir Yuan what I have seen here."