中文 / B2
守株待兔
宋国有个耕田的人，他的田里留着一个树桩。有一只兔子奔跑时撞上了树桩，折断脖子，死在了那里。
见到这件事，农民便放下了耕地的农具，守在树桩旁边。他希望同样的事情还能再次发生，自己可以再得到一只兔子。
然而，希望终究没有变成现实。他守着树桩，却再没有等到兔子，反而成了宋国人的笑柄。
那只兔子是在奔跑时偶然撞死的，并不是只要有人守在那里，兔子就会出现。农民却因为碰上了这一次机会，就放下耕田的工作，把希望寄托在下一次同样的意外上。
English summary · includes the ending
A farmer in the ancient state of Song has a tree stump in his field. A running rabbit crashes into it, breaks its neck and dies. The farmer has unexpectedly gained a rabbit without catching one himself.
He puts down his farming tools and stays beside the stump. He hopes to get another rabbit in the same way, replacing his work in the field with waiting for the accident to happen again.
No second rabbit arrives. Instead of obtaining another easy reward, the farmer becomes an object of laughter among the people of Song.
The mistake is to treat one unusual event as something he can depend on repeatedly. Remaining beside the same stump does not make another rabbit crash into it. The brief tale gives no account of his harvest or later life; its ending rests on the contrast between the rabbit he hopes to gain and the ridicule he actually receives.
Adapted for Lejrbål from the credited source.
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