Waiting by the tree stump for a hare
During the period of the Warring States, a philosopher, Han Fei, wrote the following fable:
A farmer in the State of Song was working in the field in which there was a dead tree with roots emerging on the surface of the ground. At that time, it so happened that a hare ran across the field and accidentally bashed its head against the tree stump and dropped dead there and then.
So the farmer got the hare like a windfall. He was delighted that he laid down his tools to wait by the tree stump hoping that another hare would have turn up like the earlier one.
Day by day he waited there without any similar luck until his field was covered with weeds. He also became a laughing stock.
The saying is used to ridicule those who stick to the old way without changing according to the circumstances. It can also mean waiting for an opportunity to show up.
A farmer in the State of Song was working in the field in which there was a dead tree with roots emerging on the surface of the ground. At that time, it so happened that a hare ran across the field and accidentally bashed its head against the tree stump and dropped dead there and then.
So the farmer got the hare like a windfall. He was delighted that he laid down his tools to wait by the tree stump hoping that another hare would have turn up like the earlier one.
Day by day he waited there without any similar luck until his field was covered with weeds. He also became a laughing stock.
The saying is used to ridicule those who stick to the old way without changing according to the circumstances. It can also mean waiting for an opportunity to show up.
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