Waiting for a Hare by the Stump Fairy Tale

Long ago a farmer was working in his field. In the middle of the field stood an old tree stump.

One day a hare dashed out of the forest. It was so frightened that it did not look where it was going. It bumped its head on the stump and fell down senseless. The farmer caught the hare easily and that evening made a tasty soup.

"What luck! There is no need to plough and sweat. The hares will come running and bump into the stump by themselves," thought the farmer.

The next day he threw down his hoe and sat by the stump. He waited one day, two days, a whole month. But not a single hare came.

Meanwhile his field was overgrown with weeds, and there was no harvest. The neighbours laughed. "You should have looked after your field instead of watching for hares."

Ever since, in China people say of someone who waits for luck instead of working: "He is guarding the stump, waiting for a hare."