Once there was a fellow desperately1 in need of water for his thirst.
On seeing the blazing fog, he mistook it for water. He pursued it until he reached the Indus River. But he only looked at it without drinking. A bystander asked, "You are suffering from thirst. How that you have found water, why don't you drink it?"
The fellow answered, "If I could drink up all that water, I would do it. Since there is more water than I can finish, I would rather not drink it at all."
As soon as people heard this, they laughed aloud at him.
从前有一位愚蠢而又不通事理的人，口干渴极了，要马上喝水。
看见了由热气流升腾经阳光折射而成的幻影，以为是水，立即追上这片虚幻的水气，一直到了印度河。到了水边，面对着河水却不喝。旁边的人对他说：“你如此干渴，追逐寻找水，现在到了河边，为何不痛饮？”
愚蠢的人回答说：“如果能将水喝干，我就喝，可这河水滔滔不绝，不可能喝完，因此才不喝。”
当时在周围的人听了这话，都大声地讥笑他。
