研究生中南英语翻译 2003 掩耳盗铃
2003画蛇添足 （战国策齐策）
楚有祠者，赐其舍人卮酒。舍人相谓曰：“数人饮之，不足；一人饮之，有余。请画地为蛇，先成者饮酒。”一人蛇先成。引酒且饮，乃左手持卮，右手画蛇曰：“吾能为之足。”未成，一人之蛇成。夺其卮曰：“蛇固无足，子安能为之足？”遂饮其酒。为蛇足者终亡其酒。
白话翻译
楚国有个祭祀的人，他赐给他的门客一杯酒。门客们一块儿商量说：“几个人喝这杯酒，酒不够；一个人喝它，却又太多。让咱们在地面上画成一条蛇，先画完的人喝酒。”一个人蛇先画成了。那个人拿过酒杯来打算喝，却用左手端著酒杯，用右手画著蛇说：“我能给它添上脚。”他的蛇脚还没画完，另一个人的蛇画成了。这个人抢过那个酒杯说：“蛇本来没有脚，您怎么能给它添上脚？”这个人就把那杯酒喝掉了。为蛇添脚的人，终于失掉了他的酒。
DRAWING A SNAKE AND ADDING FEET
In the state of Chu there was a man who was sacrificing to his ancestors; he offered his retainers a goblet of wine. The retainers spoke among themselves saying:” If several people drink it, there will not be enough; if one person drinks it, there will be some left over. Let us draw a snake on the ground; the one who finishes first drinks the wine.” One person finished the snake first.
He drew the wine goblet to himself and was about to drink. Whereupon, holding the goblet in his left hand, he drew the snake with his right hand, saying:” I can add some feet to it.” Before he had finished drawing the feet, another person’s snake was finished. That person snatched away that goblet saying:” Snakes originally do not have feet; how is it that you can add feet to them?” That person thereupon drank that goblet. The person who added feet to the snake lost his wine in the end.