English Original
A man noticed that the chimney in his friend's house was too straight and positioned dangerously close to a pile of firewood. He warned his friend, "Having these two so close is a fire hazard. You should bend the chimney and move the firewood away to prevent a fire." The host dismissed the advice.
A few days later, a fire did break out for that very reason. Thanks to the neighbors' help, the damage was minimal. To express his gratitude, the host held a feast for all who had helped and rewarded them according to their contributions. However, the friend who had given the initial warning was not among those thanked.
Someone then reminded the host, "If you had listened to your friend's advice, you wouldn't have needed to reward us and would have avoided the loss altogether." Realizing his mistake, the host immediately went to invite his friend.
中文翻译
一个人注意到朋友家的烟囱砌得太直，而且离柴火堆太近，非常危险。他提醒朋友说：“这两样东西离得这么近容易引发火灾。你应该把烟囱改成弯曲的，再把干柴挪远些以防万一。”主人没有采纳这个建议。
几天后，果然因此失了火。幸亏邻居们帮忙扑救，损失才不大。为了表示感谢，主人设宴款待所有帮忙的人，并按照功劳大小给予酬谢。然而，当初提出警告的那位朋友却不在被感谢之列。
这时，有人提醒主人：“如果你当初听了你朋友的建议，就不必酬谢我们，也不会遭受损失了。”主人这才醒悟过来，连忙去请自己的朋友。