Master 0sifu Fable 寓言：Supplementing each other

 Master 0sifu Fable 寓言：Supplementing each other

In the past, a man bragged about his bow: “There is no bow better than mine. It doesn’t need any arrow!”

从前，有个人自夸他的弓，说:“我的弓嘛，没有比这更好的了，好得不需要用什么箭的！”

 

Another man bragged about his arrow: “There is no arrow better than mine. It doesn’t need any bow!”

也有人在自夸他的箭，说:“我的箭，没有比这更好的了，好得用不着什么弓了！”

 

At that time, a man good at archery happened to pass by and heard their dialogue. He said: “You are both wrong. One cannot shoot an arrow without a bow; and without an arrow, how can one hit the target?”

这时候，恰好有一个会射箭的人从他们身边走过，听到他们的这段对话，就说：“你们两人的话都不对。没有弓，发不出箭；没有箭，怎么能射中目标呢？”

 

Thereupon, the man good at archery asked them to take out their bow and arrow. Then he showed them how to shoot at the target with a bow and an arrow.

说完后，会射箭的人还叫他们把弓和箭都拿出来，射箭给他们看。

 

Now they understood: A bow won’t do without an arrow; nor an arrow without a bow. They complement each other.

他们这才明白：弓不能离开箭，箭也离不开弓，两者相辅相成。