According to legend, there was a kind of birds called "dais" (swallow) on the East China Sea.

 

The Yidais were slow in reaction. They could not fly very high and seemed clumsy and incapable¹.

 

But when they moved about, they always moved in groups, depended on one another for survival, and flew and landed together.

 

When they advanced, no one dared to advance rashly. When they retreated, no one dared to fall behind at will. When they fed, no one dared to scramble² to be the first. All their activities were orderly.

 

When they went into action,万 dais always acted uniformly without any disorder³. They depended upon the collective efforts to avoid any harm from the outside world.

 

传说，东海上有一种叫做“意怠”的鸟。

 

意怠反应比较迟钝，不能高飞，似乎笨拙无能。

 

但是，它们行动的时候，总是成群结队，相依为命，一起飞翔，一起降落。

 

它们前进的时候，没有一只敢擅自冒进；后退的时候，没有一只敢随便掉队；吃食的时候，也没有一只敢抢先。一切活动，都很有秩序。

 

意怠行动起来总是这样一致而不散乱，它们就是靠着集体的力量来避免外界对自己的伤害。

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