English Original
Long ago, in the State of Jia Shi, there was a city named Bo Luo Nai. Outside the city lay a vast forest, home to five hundred macaques.
One night, the macaques wandered and came upon a Bodhi tree. Beneath it was a deep, ancient well. The water was so clear that it perfectly reflected the full moon in the sky.
The lead macaque peered into the well for a moment. Then, leaping onto the well's edge, he cried out, "Alas! The moon has died and fallen into this well! We must scoop it out together, or the nights will be dark forever!"
The other macaques scratched their heads and ears, fretting, "But the well is so deep. How can we possibly reach the moon?"
The leader had a sudden inspiration. "I have it!" he exclaimed. "I will climb the tree and grasp a branch. Then, another can grasp my tail. If we link together one after another, we can surely reach down into the well!"
Hearing this, the macaques jumped for joy. They linked head to tail, forming a long chain that stretched down toward the water's surface. Just as they were about to touch it, the branch snapped with a loud crack, and all five hundred macaques tumbled into the ancient well.
中文翻译
很久以前，在伽尸国有一座波罗奈城。城外有一片大森林，里面生活着五百只猕猴。
一天晚上，这群猕猴四处游逛，来到一棵菩提树下。树下有一口很深的古井，井水清澈，倒映着天上的一轮圆月。
领头的猕猴俯身向井中仔细看了一会儿，然后跳到井台上对大家喊道：“不好了！月亮掉进这口井里了！我们必须一起把它捞出来，不然夜晚将永远黑暗！”
其他猴子听了，个个抓耳挠腮，发愁道：“可是井这么深，我们怎么够得着月亮呢？”
领头猴灵机一动，喊道：“有办法了！我爬上树抓住树枝，另一个抓住我的尾巴。我们这样一个接一个连起来，不就能垂到井里去了吗？”
大家一听，高兴得跳了起来。于是，猴子们头尾相连，接成一条长链，向水面垂下去。就在快要碰到水面时，树枝发出咔嚓一声巨响，断了，五百只猕猴全都掉进了古井里。