A frog lived in a shallow well.
One day, it met beside the well a large soft-shelled turtle which had just crawled up from the sea.
The frog bragged1 to the turtle: "Look, how happy I am to live here! When I feel glad, I would bounce for a while near the well; and when I am tired, I would return to the well to sleep and rest for a while by the brick hole. Sometimes, I would quietly soak my whole body in the water, showing only my head and mouth. Sometimes, I would stroll in the soft mud, which is very comfortable. None of those tiny crabs2 and tadpoles3 can compare with me. I am the master of this well, free and unrestrained. Why don't you come often to play in the well?"
Hearing this, the turtle was itching4 to go down to take a look. But before he put his left foot into the well, his right foot stumbled. He quickly retreated two steps and told the frog about the sea: "Have you ever seen the sea? The sea is very, very wide, over 1,000 1i. The sea is very, very deep, over 1,000 zhang (3'/3 metres). In ancient times, in nine years out of ten there were floods, but the water in the sea did not rise much. Later, in seven years out of eight there were droughts, but the water in the sea did not drop much. Neither big floods nor big droughts can affect the sea. Only living in the sea can you feel real happiness!"
Amazed at what the big turtle had said, the frog was dumbstruck.
一隻青蛙住在一口淺井裏。
有一天，青蛙在井邊碰上了一隻剛從海里爬上來的大鱉。
青蛙對大鱉誇口說：“你看，我住在這裏多麼快樂!高興了，就在井邊跳躍一陣子;疲倦了，就回到井裏，睡在磚洞邊上休息一會兒。有時候，我靜靜地把全身泡在水裏，只露出頭和嘴巴;有時候，在軟綿綿的泥漿裏散散步，也很舒服。那些螃琪和蛾鮮，它們誰也比不上我。我是這個井的主人，自由自在，你爲什麼不常到井裏來遊玩遊玩呢?”
大鱉聽了青蛙的話，心裏癢癢的，準備下去看看。但是它的.左腳還沒伸進去，右腳就已經絆住了。它連忙後退了兩步，把大海的情形告訴青蛙，說：“你見過大海嗎?海很大很大，哪止千里;海很深很深，哪止千丈。古時候，十年裏有九年發大水。但是海里的水漲高不了多少。後來，八年裏有七年要大旱，可是海里的水也不見得淺了多少。大澇和大旱都影響不了大海。住在大海里，纔是真正的快樂呢!”
聽了大鱉的這一番話，青蛙非常吃驚，呆在那裏，無話可說了。
