中文 / C1
守株待兔
宋国有个农民耕种田地，田中有一截树桩。一只奔跑的兔子碰巧撞在树桩上，折颈而死。
农民由此放下耕田的农具，守在树桩旁，希望能够再次得到一只兔子。他把继续耕作换成了等待，指望那次偶然发生的事还会重演。
可是，兔子终究没有再次出现。守株的人未能得到所盼望的收获，反而成了宋国人的笑柄。
兔子撞桩，本是一次意外；农民却据此安排了接下来的行动。让他停下劳作的，是一次已经发生的偶然；支撑他守候的，则是同一种偶然还会再次发生的希望。
树桩仍在那里，却不意味着兔子就会再来。把一次意外当作可以反复依赖的办法，正是他这番等待的荒唐之处。
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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