English Original
Once, Zhuang Zhou went to Marquis Jianhehou to borrow provisions.
Marquis Jianhehou said, "Certainly. However, you must wait until the end of the year when the taxes have been collected. Then, I will lend you three hundred jin of gold."
Zhuang Zhou replied angrily, "Yesterday, I encountered a crucian carp trapped in a dried-up wheel rut. It begged me for a liter of water to save its life. I promised that I would travel south to persuade the Kings of Wu and Yue to divert the waters of the Xijiang River to rescue it. The carp said to me in anger, 'I will perish without water. All I need now is a single liter to survive, yet you speak of a journey a thousand miles away! By the time you return, you may find me in a shop that sells dried fish!'"
中文翻译
庄周去向监河侯借粮。
监河侯说：“可以。但要等到年终税收上来之后，那时我可以借给你三百斤黄金。”
庄周生气地回答：“昨天，我在一条干涸的车辙里见到一条鲫鱼。它求我给它一升水来活命。我答应说，我会到南方去说服吴王和越王，引西江的水来救它。鲫鱼气愤地对我说：‘我离了水就会死。现在我只需要一升水就能活命，而你却说要到千里之外去！等你回来的时候，大概只能到卖干鱼的铺子里找我了！’”