In a small village, there lived a potter. He had a donkey. Everyday his donkey would carry soil from the field to his house. Since the field was quite far off, the potter would rest under a tree midway, tying his donkey nearby.

在一个小村庄里住着一位陶工，他养了一头驴。每天他都会用驴从田地往家里运土。因为田地比较远，陶工都会在半道的一棵树下休息，把驴拴在一旁。

One day, the potter forgot to take the rope with which he tied the donkey everyday. When he reached the tree, he thought, “How do I tie this donkey today? He might run away if I sleep.” The potter decided¹ to lie down holding the donkey’s ears so that the donkey would not run away.

一天，陶工忘了带他每天拴驴用的绳子。当走到那棵树旁的时候，他想：“我今天该怎么拴驴呢？要是我睡着了，它可能会跑掉。”于是陶工决定躺下休息时揪着驴的两只耳朵——这样驴就跑不了了。

But this way neither the donkey nor the potter was able to take a rest. A saint, who happened to be passing by, saw the potter holding on to the donkey’s ears. Then the saint wanted to know what the problem of the potter was. When the potter told the saint what the problem was, the wise saint said, “Take the donkey to the place where you tie him everyday. Pretend to tie him using an imaginary rope. I assure you he won’t run away.” The potter did what the saint had said.

但是这样一来驴和陶工都无法休息。一位圣人刚好路过，他看见陶工用手揪着驴的耳朵，就想知道陶工碰到了什么麻烦。当陶工告诉他以后，睿智的圣人说：“把驴带到你每天拴它的地方，用一根想象的绳子假装把它拴好。我保证它不会逃跑。”陶工按照圣人说的做了。

He left the donkey and went to take a nap. When he woke up, to his surprise and relief, he found the donkey standing² in the same place.

陶工离开驴，去睡了一小会儿。他醒来后发现驴还站在原地，感到很吃惊，同时也松了一口气。

Soon the potter prepared to leave for home. But the donkey did not move. “What is wrong with this donkey!” exclaimed the potter in frustration³.

很快，陶工准备出发回家了，但是驴却不肯迈步。“这只驴怎么了！”陶工沮丧地叫道。

Luckily, the potter saw the wise saint again. He ran up to the saint and told him about the donkey’s strange behavior. The saint said, “You tied up the donkey, but did you untie⁴ him? Go and pretend to untie the rope with which you had tied the donkey.”

幸运的是，陶工又看到了那位睿智的圣人。他跑向圣人，告诉他驴的奇怪行为。圣人说：“你把驴拴好了，可你给它解绳子了吗？过去假装把拴着它的那根绳子解开。”

The potter followed the saint’s advice. Now the donkey was ready to leave for home. The potter understood that donkey was a bonded⁵ donkey. The potter thanked the wise saint and went home happily with his donkey.

陶工听从了圣人的建议，驴果然愿意回家了。陶工明白了，这头驴是一头被束缚的驴。陶工谢过圣人，高高兴兴地牵着驴回家了。