English Original
An African farmer, captivated by tales of others striking it rich by discovering diamond mines, sold his farm to search for diamonds himself. He spent his life wandering the continent in vain, eventually dying destitute and despondent.
Meanwhile, the new owner of the farm found a large, sparkling stone in a creek on the property and placed it on his mantel as a curiosity. A visitor later identified it as one of the largest diamonds ever found. The new farmer then revealed that his land was covered with such stones.
The first farmer had sold what became the most productive diamond mine in Africa. He had owned acres of diamonds but sold them for practically nothing to search elsewhere.
The moral is clear: If he had taken time to learn what diamonds looked like in their rough state and thoroughly explored his own land first, his dreams would have come true.
中文翻译
一位非洲农夫听说了其他农夫发现钻石矿而暴富的故事，心驰神往，于是卖掉了自己的农场，踏上了寻找钻石的旅程。他穷尽一生在非洲大陆上徒劳地漂泊，最终在穷困潦倒和绝望中投河自尽。
与此同时，买下他农场的新主人，偶然在农场的小溪里发现了一块闪闪发光的大石头，便把它当作有趣的摆设放在了壁炉架上。几周后，一位访客认出这竟是迄今发现的最大钻石之一。新农夫随后透露，他的土地上遍布着这种石头。
第一位农夫卖掉的，正是后来成为非洲产量最丰富的钻石矿。他本已坐拥数英亩的钻石，却为了去别处寻找而几乎将其白白送人。
寓意显而易见：倘若他当初花时间学习钻石原石的模样，并首先彻底勘探自己拥有的土地，他最大的梦想早已实现。