盲人摸象（詳讀本）
Level 3 · 寓言故事 · 117 vocabulary words
Source: 佛经《大般涅槃经》 · Buddhist sutra
从前，有几个盲人从来没有见过大象。有一天，他们听说街上来了大象，就一起去摸，想知道大象是什么样子的。
Some blind men who had never seen an elephant heard that one had come to town, and went to touch it, to learn what an elephant was like.
第一个盲人摸到了大象的牙，说：大象像一根又滑又硬的萝卜。
The first touched the tusk and said: an elephant is like a smooth hard radish.
第二个盲人摸到了大象的耳朵，说：不对，大象像一把大扇子。
The second touched the ear: no, an elephant is like a great fan.
第三个盲人摸到了大象的腿，说：你们都错了，大象像一根大柱子。
The third touched the leg: you are all wrong, an elephant is like a pillar.
第四个盲人摸到了大象的背，说：大象明明像一面墙。
The fourth touched the back: an elephant is plainly like a wall.
第五个盲人抓住了大象的尾巴，说：大象不过像一根绳子罢了。
The fifth grabbed the tail: an elephant is nothing but a rope.
几个人争来争去，谁也不服谁，每个人都说自己是对的。
They argued on and on, none yielding, each sure he alone was right.
其实，他们每个人摸到的都只是大象的一部分。把一部分当成全部，就永远说不清大象真正的样子。
In truth each had touched only one part of the elephant. Take a part for the whole, and you can never describe what an elephant really is.
赶象的人听了他们的话，笑得弯下了腰：你们说的都只对了一点点，把这些合起来，才是大象的样子。
The elephant's keeper bent double laughing: each of you is only a little right; put them all together and you get an elephant.
盲人们这才明白：原来我们摸到的不一样，不是因为有人在说谎，而是因为每个人摸到的都只是大象的一部分。
The blind men finally understood: our answers differed not because anyone lied, but because each touched only one part.
盲人摸象这个成语提醒我们：看问题要看全面，不能只凭自己知道的一小部分就下结论。
Blind men and the elephant warns: see the whole of a problem. Never conclude from the small part you happen to know.