Meng Chang Jun was a famous counsellor of the State of Qi.

 

One day, he wanted to leave his native country to be an official in the State of Qin. His subordinates¹ all advised him not to go, but Meng Chang Jun wouldn't listen to them. At this time, a man told him such a story.

 

Once when I was passing the Zi River, I heard in my dream a man made of mud talking with a wooden puppet by the river bank.

 

The wooden puppet said to the mud man: "You were formerly² a lump of earth, now made into a man of mud. But if it rains and the water in the river rises, you will surely be damaged by the water."

 

The man made of mud replied: "If I were damaged by the water, I would not be afraid, but would only return to my original state and dissolve into earth. But you? You were carved from the peach tree in the garden. If it rains heavily and the water in the river rises, you will be in no position to decide for yourself and can only float away with the river current. Since you cannot decide for yourself, then you will never be able to return to your original place."

 

After Meng Chang Jun heard this story of the conversation between the mud man and the wooden puppet, he changed his mind and decided³ not to go to the State of Qin.

 

孟尝君是齐国有名的谋士。

 

一天，他想离开祖国，到秦国去做官。他的部下都劝他不要去，孟尝君不听。这时，有人对他讲了这样一个故事：

 

有一次，我经过淄河的时候，梦里听见一个泥人和个木偶在河边谈话。

 

木偶对泥人说：“你原是一块泥土，现在做成泥人了。可是，如果天下起雨来，河里涨了水，那时候，你一定会给水冲坏的！”

 

泥人回答木偶说：“我要是给水冲坏了，我也不怕，因为我只是回复了我的原状，化成泥土罢了。可是，你呢，你原来是用园里的那株桃树雕出来的。要是天下起大雨来，河里涨了水，那时，你自己也做不得主，一定会随河水漂去。既然你自己做不得主，就决不能再回到原地方来了。”

 

孟尝君听了故事中泥人和木偶的一番对话，改变了主意，决定不去秦国了。

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