The Frog in the Shallow Well

Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don't you come often and look around my place?"

Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea.

"Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea's width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea."

After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.

井底之蛙

一口廢井裡住著一隻青蛙。有一天，青蛙在井邊碰上了一隻從海裡來的大龜。

青蛙就對海龜誇口說：「你看，我住在這裡多快樂！有時高興了，就在井欄邊跳躍一陣；疲倦了，就回到井裡，睡在磚洞邊一回。或者只留出頭和嘴巴，安安靜靜地把全身泡在水裡：或者在軟綿綿的泥漿裡散一回步，也很舒適。看看那些蝦和蝌蝦，誰也此不上我。而且，我是這個井裡的主人，在這井裡極自由自在，你為什麼不常到井裡來欣賞呢！」

那海龜聽了青蛙的話，倒真想進去看看。但它的左腳還沒有整個伸進去，右腳就已經絆住了。它連忙後退了兩步，把大海的情形告訴青蛙說：「你看過海嗎？海的廣大，哪止千里；海的深度，哪只千來丈。古時候，十年有九年大水，海裡的水，並不漲了多少；後來，八年裡有七年大早，海裡的水，也不見得淺了多少。可見大海是不受旱澇影響的。住在那樣的大海裡，才是真的快樂呢！」

井蛙聽了海龜的一番話，吃驚地呆在那裡，再沒有話可說了。