English Original
Minister Pang Gong was appointed by the King of Wei to accompany the crown prince to Handan as a hostage.
Before departure, he asked the king, "If someone told you there was a tiger in the marketplace, would Your Majesty believe it?"
The king replied, "No, I would not."
Pang Gong then asked, "What if a second person told Your Majesty the same thing?"
The king again said no.
Pang Gong pressed further, "What if a third person told Your Majesty this again?"
The king said, "Since everybody said so, it must be true."
Pang Gong concluded, "There is no tiger in the marketplace at all. Yet, because three people claimed there was, it became believable. This shows the power of rumor. Handan is much farther from here than the marketplace, and there will be far more than three people speaking ill of me. I beg Your Majesty to judge carefully before believing what they might say about me."
When Pang Gong eventually returned from Handan, the King of Wei refused to see him anymore.
中文翻译
大臣庞恭受魏王任命，陪同太子前往邯郸做人质。
临行前，他问魏王：“如果有人对您说集市上有只老虎，您相信吗？”
魏王答道：“不相信。”
庞恭又问：“如果第二个人也这么说呢？”
魏王仍然表示不信。
庞恭继续追问：“如果第三个人还是这么说呢？”
魏王说：“既然大家都这么说，那肯定是真的了。”
庞恭总结道：“集市上根本没有老虎。然而，仅仅因为三个人说有，就变得可信了。这显示了谣言的威力。邯郸离这里比集市远得多，而说我坏话的人也远不止三个。恳请大王在相信他们可能对我的诋毁之前，务必明察。”
当庞恭最终从邯郸返回时，魏王已不再愿意见他。