English Original
Long ago, a young man named Wang Qi heard that Mount Lao was home to many immortals. Eager to learn their secrets, he journeyed there at once.
He became a pupil of a Daoist master who appeared youthful despite his great age. For the first month, Wang Qi dutifully went to the hills each day to gather firewood with the others and listened patiently to his teacher's instructions. By the second month, he began to struggle with the hard and tiring life, yet he endured, hoping to learn magical skills. When the third month arrived, his patience ran out. He approached his teacher and said, "I have worked hard for many days. Please teach me some skills now, or my time here will have been wasted."
"What do you wish to learn?" asked the Daoist.
"Anything," Wang Qi replied.
"Then I shall teach you how to pass through a wall." The Daoist taught Wang Qi the necessary incantations. After reciting them, Wang Qi succeeded! Overjoyed, he bid farewell to his teacher and returned home.
Back home, he boasted to his family and neighbors about meeting an immortal and learning to walk through walls. No one believed him. To prove his point, Wang Qi recited the incantations and charged at a wall. Bang! His head struck the wall with great force, and he fell heavily to the ground. His wife helped him up and found a large bump swelling on his forehead.
The moral of the story is that speculation and empty boasts lead only to failure.
中文翻译
从前，有个名叫王七的年轻人，听说崂山上住着许多仙人。他渴望学习仙术，立刻动身前往。
他拜了一位鹤发童颜的老道士为师。第一个月，王七每天跟着众人上山砍柴，耐心聆听师父讲道。到了第二个月，他开始难以忍受清贫辛苦的生活，但为了学到仙术，他勉强坚持着。第三个月时，他再也忍不下去了，于是找到师父说：“弟子操劳多日，恳请师父传授一些仙术，也不枉我在此受苦。”
“你想学什么？”道士问道。
“什么都行。”王七回答。
“那我就教你穿墙术吧。”道士便将咒语传授给王七。王七念诵咒语后，果然成功穿墙而过！他大喜过望，谢别师父，下山回家了。
回到家后，他向家人和邻居吹嘘自己遇到了神仙，学会了穿墙术。无人相信。为了证明自己，王七念动咒语，朝一堵墙冲去。嘭！ 他的头重重地撞在墙上，摔倒在地。妻子赶忙扶他起来，发现他额头上肿起了一个大包。
这个故事告诉我们：投机取巧、哗众取宠注定会失败。