English Original
There was an archer named Geng Ying in the State of Wei. He was sightseeing with the King of Wei at Jingtai when a bird began circling in the sky, uttering sad and shrill cries.
The King looked up and asked Geng Ying, "Do you see that bird? Can you shoot it down?"
"I can bring it down without an arrow," Geng Ying replied.
Soon, as the bird flew closer, Geng Ying drew his bow to its fullest, plucked the bowstring, and at the sound, the bird fell to the ground at their feet.
The King exclaimed in surprise, "You can shoot down a bird without an arrow! Your skill is truly wonderful."
Geng Ying said, "Your Majesty, this is not due to my skill, but because this bird is unfortunate. You could hear how sadly and shrilly it wailed and see how tiredly it flew. It was already wounded and had long been separated from its flock. Thus, it could not withstand the mere fright. When I twanged my bow, it thought it was shot and fell from the sky of its own accord. What a pitiful bird, startled by the mere twang of a bowstring!"
中文翻译
魏国有一位名叫更赢的射手。一次，他陪同魏王在京台游玩，看到一只鸟在空中盘旋，发出凄厉的鸣叫。
魏王抬头看了一会儿，问更赢：“你看见那只鸟了吗？你能把它射下来吗？”
更赢回答：“我可以不用箭就把它射下来。”
不一会儿，鸟飞近了。更赢拉满弓，只拨动了一下弓弦，鸟应声而落，掉在他们脚边。
魏王惊奇地说：“你不用箭就能射下飞鸟！你的箭术真是高明。”
更赢说：“大王，这不是我的技术高明，而是因为这是一只倒霉的鸟。您听它叫声凄厉，看它飞行疲惫。它早已受伤，又长时间离群索居，因此经不起一点惊吓。我的弓弦一响，它就以为自己被射中，自己从天上掉了下来。这真是一只被弓弦声吓破胆的可怜鸟啊！”