Teddy has emptied his fishbowl and now he is carefully measuring fresh water back into it. The manner in which he is doing that has alarmed his goldfish. That tiny amount of water is hardly a drop in the bucket! I'll need more than that!" the goldfish cried. A drop in the bucket / ocean describes a very small amount of something, especially when much more is required.

empty 使…成為空的
Fishbowl 魚缸
fresh water 淡水
alarm 使…驚恐
goldfish 金魚

一滴水，無論在水桶(bucket) 里或是在汪洋 (ocean)中，只是極微小的分量。因此，“a drop in溢the bucket/ocean” 也就解釋為滄海一粟或九牛一毛。

① “The new tax cuts are a drop in the ocean. I'd like to see bigger ones.”
“新減稅額只是九牛一毛。我希望有更大幅度的削減。”
② “I'd like to buy a new ear, but I'm afraid what I have saved is just a drop in the bucket. I'll have to save much more money.”
“我想買部新車，但我的積蓄恐怕僅是九牛一毛。我必須積蓄更多的錢。”