A Foolish Man Buys Shoes
There awas once a foolish man. One day he wantedto go to the market to buy a pair of new shoes. Hefirst measured his foot with a ruler and then took apiece of straw and marked the length of his foot onit. But he was in such a hurry to set off that he leftthe straw at home.
At the market, having found a shoe-stall, he felt in his pockets, only to find that the straw wasnot there. So he said to the shoemaker, "I've left the measurement at home, so I don't knowthe size. I'll have to go back for it." with these words, he hurried off.
He hurried home for the straw and then hurried back to the market again. The trip home andback took him a lot of time. By the time he reached the market, it was almost dark and themarket was already over. he had gone to all this trouble for nothing and still had not managedto buy the shoes.
Then someone asked him, "Did you want to buy the shoes for yourself or for someone else?"
He answered, "For myself, of course!"
The man then asked him, "Well, but haven't you brought your feet with you?" What do youneed to bring the measurement for?"
愚人买鞋
从前有个愚人，有一天想上市去买双新鞋。他便先用尺把脚量了，又用一根稻草比下尺码。可是因为急于赶路，把稻草忘在家里了。
他来到市上，找到了卖鞋子的摊子，摸了摸口袋，不见了记尺码的稻草。就对卖鞋的说：“尺码忘在家里了，不晓得大小，让我回家拿尺码去！”说罢，拔腿就跑。
他急急忙忙回家拿了拿跟稻草，又急急忙忙赶回市上来，一来一去，花了很多时间。等他赶回市上，天已晚了，集市已经散了。他白白忙了一阵，还是没有买到鞋子。这时，有人问他：“你是给自己买鞋子，还是替别人代买？”
愚人回答说：“我为自己买的呀！”
那人又问他：“那么，脚不是长在你身上吗？又何必要尺码呢？”