The donkey and the pug
Once upon a time there was a man who had a donkey and a lap dog. The donkey at the bottom of the manger had plenty of oats and hay to eat, but the pug was much loved by his master, who stroked him and made him lie at his feet. If a pug greets his master when he returns from a meal, he will give him a little of the food he has brought. And donkeys have a lot of work to do, like grinding rice and carrying crops. The donkey contrasted his working life with the ease and idleness of the pug, and soon became exceedingly jealous.
Finally, one day, the donkey broke loose and bounded into the room. Just as his master was sitting down to dinner, the donkey prattered around him, imitating his pet's cute imitation, but with his clumsy energy he kicked over the table and broke the crockery. He even tried to jump into his master's lap, as he often did when he saw pugs. When the servants saw that their master was in danger, they beat the donkey with their sticks and drove him back to Grojou. The donkey was beaten half to death. "Ouch! "Cried the ass." I have brought all this on myself. Why should I not be content with my natural dignity, and try to imitate the absurd behavior of a weak pug?"
Man's most foolish behavior is to deny himself or even lose himself because he envies others; his worse behavior is to deliberately imitate others, and imitating others is tantamount to suicide.
驴和哈巴狗
从前，有个人养了一头驴和一只哈巴狗。养在槽底里的驴虽然有很多燕麦和干草吃，但哈巴狗更得主人宠爱，主人经常抚摸它，让它在脚边躺着。如果主人在外用餐归来时，哈巴狗摇头摆尾地迎接他，主人就会把带回来的一点儿食物给它。而驴有很多工作要做，比如磨稻谷和搬运庄稼。驴把自己的劳作生活与哈巴狗的舒适闲散相对比，不久，它就嫉妒得要命。
终于有一天，驴挣脱了缰绳，蹦蹦跳跳地来到房间里。恰好主人正要坐下来吃饭，驴模仿哈巴狗的可爱样子围着主人欢蹦乱跳，可它那笨拙的蛮劲儿踢翻了桌子，打碎了陶器。它甚至试图蹦到主人的腿上去，就像它瞧见哈巴狗经常做的那样。仆人们见主人有危险，就用棍棒狠狠地打了这头蠢驴，把它赶回槽厩。驴被打得半死。“哎呀！” 驴哭喊道，“这都是我自作自受，我为什么不满足于自己天生高贵的身份，而想要去模仿差劲儿的哈巴狗那荒谬可笑的举动呢？”
人最愚蠢的行为是因为羡慕别人而否定自己，甚至丢失自我；人更糟糕的行为是刻意模仿他人，而模仿他人无异于自*。
