A long time ago, there was a rich man whose foolishness knew no bounds（无限）.

 

The fool visited another rich man's house and saw a magnificent three-storeyed building which was tall, spacious¹ and bright. He was extremely envious² and said to himself, "my wealth is no less than his. Why haven't I got a house like this?"

 

He immediately called in a carpenter. "Did you build that house?" He inquired, "Yes, indeed," answered the carpenter, whereupon he ordered a similar house be built for him.

 

The carpenter started to clear the ground and pile up mud bricks, When the fool saw the carpenter do this, he was puzzled and asked, "What kind of a house are you going to build?" "A three-storeyed house," came the reply. "I don't want the first and second storeys. Build the top storey first." "That simply cannot be done," the carpenter argued. "Whoever heard of building the second storey without first constructing the  ground storey, and without the second storey, how can you build the third?"

 

But the fool insisted, "I don't need the first two storeys. You must build only the top storey for me."

 

过去，有一个富有的愚人，他非常愚昧无知。

 

一天，他到另外一个富翁的家中，看见他家有一座三层楼的楼房，房屋高大富丽，宽敞明亮，他心里十分羡慕，于是便生出一个念头：“我的钱财并不比他少，为什么我不马上去建造这样一座楼呢？”

 

于是他立刻唤来木匠而问道：“你知道怎样建造他家那样漂亮的楼房吗？”木匠回答说：“那座楼正是我建造的。”愚蠢的富翁就说：“那你现在就给我造一座那样的楼。”

 

于是木匠便开始测量地基，垒砖造楼。愚蠢的富翁看见木匠垒砖造房，心里仍然怀着疑惑，不知道怎么回事。问木匠说：“你打算造什么样的房子？”木匠回答说：“造三层楼房。”愚蠢的富翁又说：“我不要下面的两层。你可以先给我造最上面的一层。”木匠回答说：“没有这样的事情，怎么可能不造最下面的一层楼而可以造第二层楼的？不造第二层楼，又怎么能够造第三层楼呢？”

 

愚蠢的富翁仍旧固执地说：“我不要下面的两层楼，你一定可以给我造最上面的一层楼。”

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