English Original
In the State of Zheng, a man decided to go to town to buy a new pair of shoes.
Before leaving home, he measured his foot with a piece of straw to use as a measurement. Upon arriving at a shoe shop, he reached into his pocket only to realize that in his haste, he had left the measurement at home. He immediately turned around and hurried home to fetch it.
When he rushed back to the shop with the straw, it had already closed. His entire trip had been in vain.
Later, someone asked him, "Were you buying shoes for yourself or for someone else?"
"For myself," he replied.
Another person asked, "Don't you have your own feet with you? You could have simply tried the shoes on to find the right size. Why did you go all the way home for the measurement?"
The man from Zheng insisted, "I would rather trust the measurement than my own feet."
中文翻译
郑国有个人，打算去城里买一双新鞋。
离家前，他用一根稻草量了自己的脚，以此作为尺码。到了鞋店，他伸手去口袋里一摸，才发现因为匆忙赶路，把尺码忘在家里了。他立刻转身，急忙跑回家去取。
等他拿着那根稻草赶回鞋店时，店已经关门了。他白忙活了一场。
后来，有人问他：“你是给自己买鞋，还是给别人买？”
他回答说：“给我自己。”
另一个人又问：“你的脚不是长在自己身上吗？你直接用脚试穿鞋子不就知道合不合适了吗？为什么还要特地跑回家去拿尺码呢？”
那个郑国人坚持说：“我宁愿相信尺码，也不相信自己的脚。”