English Original
A man in the state of Chu, trying to sell his pheasant, lied to people by claiming it was a phoenix.
A passerby believed him and bought the bird for twenty pieces of gold.
The passerby intended to present it to the king of Chu. However, the pheasant died the very next day. The passerby did not regret the lost money, but only that he could not present the "phoenix" to the king. The story spread throughout the country, and everyone came to believe it was a true phoenix.
Hearing of this, the king of Chu was moved by the apparent loyalty of his subject. He summoned the man who had wanted to present the phoenix and rewarded him with gifts worth ten times the price he had paid for the pheasant.
中文翻译
一个楚国人为了卖掉他的山鸡，向人们谎称他手里拿的是一只凤凰。
一位过路人相信了他的话，用二十金买下了这只鸟。
过路人想将这只“凤凰”献给楚王。然而，山鸡在第二天就死了。过路人并不痛惜金钱，只遗憾自己没能将“凤凰”献给楚王。这件事在全国传开，人们都信以为真，认为那山鸡是只真凤凰。
楚王得知此事后，被臣民所表现出的忠心所感动。他召见了那位想要献上凤凰的人，并赏赐给他价值十倍于山鸡价格的礼物。