English Original
A long time ago, there was a rich man whose foolishness knew no bounds.
The fool visited another rich man's house and saw a magnificent three-storeyed building which was tall, spacious and bright. He was extremely envious and said to himself, "My wealth is no less than his. Why haven't I got a house like this?"
He immediately called in a carpenter. "Did you build that house?" he inquired. "Yes, indeed," answered the carpenter, whereupon he ordered a similar house be built for him.
The carpenter started to clear the ground and pile up mud bricks. When the fool saw this, he was puzzled and asked, "What kind of a house are you going to build?" "A three-storeyed house," came the reply. "I don't want the first and second storeys. Build the top storey first." "That simply cannot be done," the carpenter argued. "Whoever heard of building the second storey without first constructing the ground storey, and without the second storey, how can you build the third?"
But the fool insisted, "I don't need the first two storeys. You must build only the top storey for me."
中文翻译
很久以前，有一个富翁，其愚昧无知毫无边际。
这个愚人拜访了另一个富翁的家，看到一座宏伟的三层楼房，高大、宽敞又明亮。他极为嫉妒，心想：“我的财富不比他少，为什么我没有这样一座房子？”
他立刻叫来一个木匠，问道：“那房子是你建的吗？”木匠回答：“是的，确实是我建的。”于是，愚人命令木匠为他建造一座同样的房子。
木匠开始清理地面，堆砌泥砖。愚人看到后感到困惑，问道：“你打算建什么样的房子？”木匠回答：“一座三层楼的房子。”愚人说：“我不要第一层和第二层。先给我建最上面那层。”木匠争辩道：“这根本不可能。谁听说过不先建第一层就能建第二层？没有第二层，又怎么能建第三层呢？”
但愚人坚持说：“我不需要下面两层。你必须只给我建最上面那层。”