The Silly Swordsman
故事全文
Once upon a time, there was a swordsman from the State of Chu. He carried a sword, and was preparing to take a boat across the river. The boat had just set off, when his sword fell into the river by accident. However, the swordsman did not jump into the river immediately in search of his sword. Instead, he drew a little cross on the outside of the boat where the sword had fallen into the water. The other passengers thought it to be strange, and asked the swordsman curiously, “Why aren’t you trying to find your sword?”
The swordsman from Chu laughed and said, “Do you know why I drew the cross? It marks the place where my sword fell into the river. I only need to wait till the boat reaches the other side, before diving into the water near this cross to find my sword.”
After a while, the boat reached the other side of the river. The swordsman jumped into the river to find his sword. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not find it.
Moral of the story: it is unwise to be stubborn and inflexible.
