1. 守株待兔
從前，宋國有一個農夫。在他耕種的田地裏，有一棵很大的樹。一天，他正在田裏耕作，突然看見一隻兔子在他麵前飛奔而過，正好撞在那棵大樹上，撞斷脖子死在了樹下。
農夫沒花多少氣力，就美滋滋地吃了一頓兔肉，心裏非常高興。他想，要是天天這樣，該多好啊！
於是，他不再耕地了，每天守候在那棵樹旁，等待著能再撿到一隻撞死在樹上的兔子。
等呀等，守呀守，田地也荒蕪了，卻再也沒有守到第二隻兔子，鄉裏的人都暗暗地笑他把偶然當成了必然。
Waiting for Hares by the Tree
In the past,there was a farmer in the State of Song.There stood a big tree in the field he cultivated.One day,while working in the field,he suddenly saw a hare running by in front of him.The hare bumped against the tree,broke its neck and died under the tree.
Without any effort,the farmer happily enjoyed a meal of hare meat.He was very pleased and thought how nice it would be if every day were like this.
Thereupon,he no longer cultivated his land,but watched by the tree and waited for the chance to pick up another hare which knocked itself dead against the tree.
He waited and waited and watched.His field lay waste,but he never got a second hare.The people in the village laughed at him for taking the accidental for the inevitable.
2. 刻舟求劍
一天，有個楚國人坐船過河，一不小心，身上掛的寶劍掉進河裏去了。他一點兒也不著急，慢騰騰地拿出小刀，在船舷上刻了一個記號。
有人問他：
“為什麼不趕快下水把它撈起來？你在船舷上刻這個記號有什麼用啊？”
他指著船舷上的記號，不慌不忙地說：
“不用著急。我的寶劍是從這個刻著記號的地方掉下去的。等船到了碼頭，靠了岸，我從這裏跳下去，就能把寶劍撈上來。”
One day, a man of the state of Chu was crossing a river by boat. Due to carelessness, his sword which hung at his side fell into the water. Not in the least worried, he slowly took out a knife and cut a mark on the side of the boat.
Someone on the boat asked him:
\\\"Why don\\u0027t you jump into the water at once to fish for your sword?what\\u0027s the use of making this mark on the side of the boat?\\\"
He pointed to the mark on the side of the boat,saying unhurriedly:
\\\"There is no need to worry, my sword fell into the river at this marked place. As soon as the boat reaches the dock and pulls in to shore.I will jump down from here to retrieve my sword. \\\"