A Bonded Donkey
被束縛的驢子
A potter lived in a small village, and he had a donkey. Every day he took his donkey carry soil from the field. Since the field was quite far from his house, the potter would rest under a tree midway, tying his donkey nearby.
在一個村莊裡住著一位陶工，他養了一頭驢。每天他都會牽著驢去運土。因為田地很遠，陶工都會在半路的一棵樹下休息，把驢拴在一旁。
One day, the potter forgot to take the rope with which he tied the donkey. When he reached the tree, he thought, "How do I tie this donkey today? It might run away if I sleep." The potter decided to lie down holding the donkey's ears so that the donkey would not run away.
一天，陶工忘了帶他每天拴驢用的繩子。當走到那棵樹旁的時候，他想：「我今天該怎麼拴驢呢？如果我睡著了，它可能會跑掉。」於是陶工決定躺下休息時揪著驢的兩隻耳朵——這樣驢就跑不了了。
But this way neither the donkey nor the potter was able to take a rest. An old-man, who happened to be passing by, saw the potter holding on to the donkey's ears and wanted to know what the problem of the potter was. After the potter told him what the problem was, the wise old-man said, "Take the donkey to the place where you tie him every day. Pretend to tie him using an imaginary rope. I assure you he won't run away." The potter did what the old-man had said.
但是這樣一來驢和陶工都無法休息。一位老者剛好路過，他看到陶工用手揪著驢的耳朵，想知道陶工碰到了什麼麻煩。當陶工告訴他以後，睿智的老人說：「你把驢帶到每天拴它的地方，用一根想像的繩子假裝把它拴好。我保證它不會逃跑。」陶工按照老人說的做了。
The potter left the donkey and went to take a nap. When he woke up, he found that the donkey was still standing in the same place. He breathed easier.
陶工離開驢，去睡了一小會兒。他醒來後發現驢還站在原地，感到很吃驚，同時也鬆了一口氣。
Soon the potter prepared to leave for home. But the donkey did not move. "What's wrong with this donkey!" exclaimed the potter in frustration.
很快，陶工準備出發回家了，但是驢卻總是不肯邁步。「這隻驢怎麼了！」陶工沮喪地叫道。
Luckily, the potter saw the wise old-man again. He ran up to the old-man and told him about the donkey's strange behavior. The old-man said, "You tied up the donkey, but did you untie him? Go and pretend to untie the rope with which you had tied the donkey."
幸運的是，陶工又看到了那位睿智的老人。他跑向這個老人，告訴他驢的奇怪行為。老人說：「你把驢拴好了，可你給它解繩子了嗎？過去假裝解開繩子就好了。」
The potter followed the old-man's advice. Then the donkey was willing to go home. The potter understood that donkey was a bonded donkey. The potter thanked the wise old-man and went home happily with his donkey.
陶工聽從了老人的建議，驢果然願意回家了。陶工明白了，這是一頭已經被束縛的驢。陶工謝過老人，高高興興地牽著驢回家了。