There was a man of the State of Song who liked to curry favour with others.

　　宋國(guó)有一個(gè)人，喜歡奉承別人。

　　One day, he got a piece of uncarved jade and went to present it to Zi Han, a minister of the State of Song, with the intention to ingratiate himself with the official.

　　有一天，他得到了一塊未經(jīng)雕琢的玉石，便去獻(xiàn)給宋國(guó)大臣子罕，想討好一番。

　　Zi Han adamantly refused to accept it.

　　子罕執(zhí)意不受。

　　Thereupon, this man said in honeyed words:

　　于是，那人便花言巧語(yǔ)地說(shuō):

　　"This is a piece of rare jade. I regard it as a treasure suitable for a gentleman's utensil. If it gets into the hands of an old gentleman like you, to be worn by you or put on your dining table, that would be most suitable and fitting. I am an unrefined man, not deserving such a valuable treasure."

　　“這是一塊珍奇的玉石啊!我把它當(dāng)做寶貝，適宜于做君子的器皿。要是落在老先生你的手中，掛在你的身上，放在你的餐桌上，是最相稱、最適合的。我是一個(gè)粗人，不配使用這種貴重的寶物。”

　　"You may regard this piece of jade as a treasure," said Zi Han, "but I do not accept other's fawning, nor do I regard this kind of conduct a treasure."

　　子罕回答說(shuō):

　　The man of Song felt he had asked for a snub and sneaked away.

　　“你把這塊玉石當(dāng)做寶貝，我卻不接受別人巴結(jié)奉承，并且不把這種行為當(dāng)做寶貝。”

　　那個(gè)宋國(guó)人自討沒(méi)趣，溜了。