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In a small village, there lived a potter1). He had a donkey. Everyday his donkey would carry soil from the field to his house. Since the field was quite far off, the potter would rest under a tree midway, tying his donkey nearby.
在一個小村莊里住著一位陶工，他養了一頭驢。每天他都會用驢從田地往家里運土。因為田地比較遠，陶工都會在半道的一棵樹下休息，把驢拴在一旁。
One day, the potter forgot to take the rope with which he tied the donkey everyday. When he reached the tree, he thought, “How do I tie this donkey today? He might run away if I sleep.” The potter decided to lie down holding the donkey’s ears so that the donkey would not run away.
一天，陶工忘了帶他每天拴驢用的繩子。當走到那棵樹旁的時候，他想：“我今天該怎么拴驢呢？要是我睡著了，它可能會跑掉。”于是陶工決定躺下休息時揪著驢的兩只耳朵——這樣驢就跑不了了。
But this way neither the donkey nor the potter was able to take a rest. A saint, who happened to be passing by, saw the potter holding on to the donkey’s ears. Then the saint wanted to know what the problem of the potter was. When the potter told the saint what the problem was, the wise saint said, “Take the donkey to the place where you tie him everyday. Pretend to tie him using an imaginary rope. I assure you he won’t run away.” The potter did what the saint had said.
但是這樣一來驢和陶工都無法休息。一位圣人剛好路過，他看見陶工用手揪著驢的耳朵，就想知道陶工碰到了什么麻煩。當陶工告訴他以后，睿智的圣人說：“把驢帶到你每天拴它的地方，用一根想象的繩子假裝把它拴好。我保證它不會逃跑。”陶工按照圣人說的做了。
He left the donkey and went to take a nap. When he woke up, to his surprise and relief, he found the donkey standing in the same place.
陶工離開驢，去睡了一小會兒。他醒來后發現驢還站在原地，感到很吃驚，同時也松了一口氣。
Soon the potter prepared to leave for home. But the donkey did not move. “What is wrong with this donkey!” exclaimed2) the potter in frustration3).
很快，陶工準備出發回家了，但是驢卻不肯邁步。“這只驢怎么了！”陶工沮喪地叫道。
Luckily, the potter saw the wise saint again. He ran up to the saint and told him about the donkey’s strange behavior. The saint said, “You tied up the donkey, but did you untie him? Go and pretend to untie the rope with which you had tied the donkey.”
幸運的是，陶工又看到了那位睿智的圣人。他跑向圣人，告訴他驢的奇怪行為。圣人說：“你把驢拴好了，可你給它解繩子了嗎？過去假裝把拴著它的那根繩子解開。”
The potter followed the saint’s advice. Now the donkey was ready to leave for home. The potter understood that donkey was a bonded donkey. The potter thanked the wise saint and went home happily with his donkey.
陶工聽從了圣人的建議，驢果然愿意回家了。陶工明白了，這頭驢是一頭被束縛的驢。陶工謝過圣人，高高興興地牽著驢回家了。
