Many many years ago, in the State of Song, there was a city gate. Outside the gate was a moat with fishes that lived a quiet and happy life there.

　　One day the tower above the city gate caught fire and the people of the city were alarmed. Even the fishes in the moat could hear the gone.

　　"What's the noise about?" the fishes wondered. "I must go and find out," said one curious black carp. When he saw the tower on fire, he hurried back to tell his mates1. "Swim all you could! Swim all you could! Swim for life!" He cried to his fellow-fishes. "The city gate is burning!"

　　So all the fishes except the carps started to swim away. One arrogant2 carp even laughed at the other fishes. "Don't laugh," said the kind black carp. "You really ought to swim away, too, in good time."

　　"Why should I?" asked the arrogant carp. "It's only their city gate on fire, what's it got to do with me in the water?" The fire spread very fast and the firemen had used up all the water in the city. But it was still burning. So they fetched waster from the moat.

　　At long last, the fire was put out, but the moat had also gone dry, leaving a few sorry carps in their dying3 struggle. This tale likens the city gate fire to disasters that do not seem to concern us but that can spread and involve even the innocent4.

　　很久很久以前，宋國有一座城池。城外有一條河，河中的魚群生活的十分安定愉快。

　　有一天，城樓失火了，火警的鐘聲穿到了水中。

　　“為什么這么吵鬧呢？”一條魚問道，“我們得去看看！”好奇的青魚已經(jīng)先游去去查看了，當它看到城樓失火時，他急忙回來告訴他的同伴，“著火了，城樓失火了，快點叫他們逃命吧！”

　　所有的魚都逃命去了，只有一條鯉魚在嘲笑他們。青魚對他說：“還不快逃命，還在這里笑什么？”

　　“我為什么要逃，城樓失火了又不會蔓延到水中，我為什么要走呢？”鯉魚回答。城中的水很快就用完了，火還沒有撲滅，于是，人們都來護城河中取水救火。

　　火終于撲滅了，可是河也干涸了，只余下幾條可憐的鯉魚在河床上作垂死的掙扎。城門失火比喻因牽連而受禍害或損失。