中文 / B1
刻舟求剑
从前，楚国有一个人坐船过江。船在江上走着，他的剑从船里掉进了水中。
剑掉下去时，他马上在船上刻下一个记号，然后说：「这里就是我的剑掉下去的地方。」
后来，船停了。他按照船上的记号，从那个地方下水去找剑。
可是，船已经离开了剑落水的地方，水里的剑并没有跟着船一起向前走。记号还在船上，船却已经到了别处。
他只看船上的记号，却不想一想船的位置已经变了。用这样的方法找剑，不是很糊涂吗？
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.
Read the source