English Original
During a rest stop, the horse pulling Confucius's chariot wandered into a farmer's field and ate some crops. The angry farmer seized and kept the horse.
Zi Gong, known for his eloquence, went to reason with the farmer. To his surprise, the farmer refused to listen and would not return the horse.
Then, a new student from the countryside who had just begun studying under Confucius approached the farmer. He said, "You don't farm by the East Sea, and I don't farm by the West Sea. Since our lands are so close, it's hard to prevent my horse from occasionally eating your crops."
Hearing this, the farmer was pleased. He said to the student, "What you say makes perfect sense, much more than what the previous fellow said!" He then returned the horse immediately.
中文翻译
休息时，为孔子驾车的马跑进农田，吃了农夫的庄稼。生气的农夫扣留了这匹马。
以能言善辩著称的子贡前去与农夫理论，不料农夫根本不予理睬，拒绝还马。
此时，一位刚拜孔子为师的乡下学生走了过来。他对农夫说：“你不在东海边种地，我也不在西海边耕田。我们的田地离得这么近，我的马难免会吃到你的庄稼。”
农夫听了很高兴，对他说：“你这话说得在理，比刚才那人强多了！”随即把马还给了他。