守株待兔
Waiting by a stump
Read, find evidence, and explain in your own words.
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宋国有个农夫，每天到田里干活。田边有一个树桩。一天，他正弯腰拔草，一只兔子突然跑来，撞上树桩，死了。农夫没有追，也没有设网，却白白得到了一只兔子。
A farmer in the state of Song worked in his field every day. A stump stood at its edge. One day, while he was pulling weeds, a rabbit ran into the stump and died. Without chasing it or setting a net, the farmer had caught a rabbit.
他想：种田又累又慢，等兔子多容易！第二天，他把农具放在一边，坐到树桩旁。太阳升高了，他不走；天快黑了，他还在等。他总觉得，昨天来的兔子，今天也会来。
He thought, Farming takes so much work. Waiting for rabbits is easy! The next day he put his tools aside and sat by the stump. He stayed as the sun rose high and was still waiting near nightfall. He kept expecting yesterday’s luck to return.
一天过去，两天过去，再没有兔子撞来。田里的草却越长越高。邻人问他为什么不干活，他仍指着树桩说要等兔子。他把一次偶然的收获，当成了天天都会发生的事。
One day passed, then another. No more rabbits came, while weeds grew taller in his field. When a neighbour asked why he was not working, he pointed at the stump. He had mistaken a lucky accident for something that would happen every day.
Explore the text
故事根据《韩非子·五蠹》改写，对话和等候的细节是教学补写。守是守着，株是树桩，待是等待。一次好运不能代替持续的努力，也不能证明同一办法永远有用。
This retells a fable in Han Feizi, Five Vermin. The dialogue and waiting details are added for learning. Shou means stay by, zhu means stump, and dai means wait. One lucky event cannot replace steady work or prove that one method always works.
Words to practise
守株待田草