In the past, a man bragged¹ 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.

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。

He said:"You are both wrong.

就说:“你们两人的话都不对。

One cannot shoot an arrow without a bow; and without an arrow, how can one hit the target?"

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.

说完后，会射箭的人还叫他们把弓和箭都拿出来。

Then he showed them how to shoot at the target with a bow and an arrow.

射箭给他们看。

Now they understood: A bow won't do without an arrow; nor an arrow without a bow.

他们这才明白:弓不能离开箭，箭也离不开弓。

They complement² each other.

两者相辅相成。