Fable · 声匠改编 · 3:58
Waiting for Rabbits by the Tree Stump
A rabbit runs into a stump and gives a farmer of Song a free dinner, so he drops his hoe to wait for the next one. The idiom shou zhu dai tu, retold.
Narrator
The Farmer
The Farmer's Wife
Old Wang
The RabbitOther languages · 2 languages
About this story
Waiting for Rabbits by the Tree Stump tells the story behind the Chinese idiom 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù), which literally means 'guard the stump, wait for the rabbit.' It comes from the Han Feizi, the book of the philosopher Han Fei (third century BCE), in the chapter The Five Vermin (Wu du): a farmer of Song sees a rabbit run into a stump and break its neck, throws down his plough to wait for another, and becomes the laughing stock of the kingdom. Han Fei used it to mock people who wanted to govern the present with the methods of the ancient kings. This version adds the farmer's wife and his neighbour, Old Wang, and turns a few lines of fable into a lively little play.
What it teaches
A lucky accident won't happen to order. If you stop working and wait for luck to come back, you lose what honest work would have given you, and when things change, your plans have to change too.
Suits
Ages 5 and up
Tips for telling it
- Pause before the thump, or knock on the table, so your child laughs first; then let the farmer's silliness sink in.
- Ask: what did the farmer do wrong? Was he lazy, or stuck on one lucky day? Both answers are right.
- Pair it with The Farmer Who Pulled Up His Rice (拔苗助长): one farmer waits far too long, the other can't wait at all.
Questions people ask
- What does 守株待兔 mean?
- 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù) literally means 'guard the stump, wait for the rabbit'; 株 (zhū) is a tree stump. It describes someone who waits for luck instead of working, or who clings to one lucky experience and refuses to adapt.
- Where does the story of the farmer and the tree stump come from?
- It comes from the Han Feizi, chapter Wu du (The Five Vermin), by the Warring States philosopher Han Fei, who died in 233 BCE. He used the farmer of Song to mock those who wanted to rule the people of his day with the methods of the ancient kings.
- What is the moral of Waiting for Rabbits by the Tree Stump?
- Don't mistake a lucky accident for something that will happen again, and don't expect rewards without effort. Steady work brings a harvest; waiting by the stump brings only weeds.
- Is there an English saying like 守株待兔?
- There's no exact match, but 'lightning never strikes twice in the same place' captures the idea that a fluke rarely repeats, and 'waiting for your ship to come in' describes sitting around hoping for luck.
More Fables
All Fables episodes →曾子杀猪
声匠改编
曾子的妻子要去集市，小儿子哭着要跟。妈妈随口哄他：回来给你杀猪吃。她回家时，曾子真的在捉猪了。妻子说那是哄孩子的，曾子却说：对孩子，不能说假话。
郑人买履
声匠改编
郑国有个人要买鞋，在家量好了脚的尺码，到了集市才发现尺码忘在家里。他跑回去拿，回来集市已经散了。有人问：你怎么不用脚试一试？
The Ant and the Dove
声匠改编
A thirsty ant falls into a stream, and a dove drops her a leaf. Days later, a bird-catcher creeps up on the dove. Aesop's fable of one good turn, retold.
The Ant and the Grasshopper
声匠改编
All summer the ants store food while the grasshopper sings and laughs at them. Then winter comes. A kind retelling of the Aesop fable about planning ahead.
The Farmer Who Pulled Up His Seedlings
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A farmer of Song thinks his millet grows too slowly, so he tugs every seedling up a little. Then his son runs to the field. The idiom ba miao zhu zhang.
The North Wind and the Sun
声匠改编
The boastful North Wind and the gentle Sun bet on who can make a traveler take off his cloak. Aesop's fable of why warmth wins where force fails, retold.
