中文 / A2
刻舟求剑
从前，楚国有一个人坐船过江。他的剑从船上掉进了水里。
他马上在船上做了一个记号，说：「我的剑就是从这里掉下去的。」
船停下来以后，他从有记号的地方下水，去找自己的剑。
可是，船已经向前走了，剑却没有跟着船走。剑还在原来的地方。他在现在这个地方找，怎么能找到呢？
English summary · includes the ending
A man from the ancient state of Chu is crossing a river by boat. His sword falls from the boat into the water. He immediately cuts a mark on the boat and explains that this is the place where his sword fell.
When the boat stops, he enters the water beside the mark to look for the missing sword. He uses the mark as his guide, although the boat has travelled away from the place of the accident.
The problem is simple: the sword has not travelled with the boat. The mark remains in the same place on the boat, but that part of the boat is now above a different part of the river.
The tale ends by questioning such a confused way of searching. The man has carefully marked a position on something that moves, then treated it as a fixed position in the water.
Adapted for Lejrbål from the credited source.
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