Once a man planned to build a terrace1.

　　He worked very hard and spent a lot of time digging and carrying earth.

　　When the mound2 was almost completed and only one more basket of earth was needed, the man gave up.

　　The terrace was never completed.

　　This idiom means to fail to succeed for lack of final effort.

　　古時，有一個人要筑一座九仞（八尺=一仞）高的山。

　　他十分努力的建造這座山，并且花了很多時間挖土、搬運泥土。

　　終于當山快要建成的時候，幾乎只差最后一籃子的泥土就行了的時候，他放棄了。

　　這座山便永遠無法完工。

　　這個典故用以形容“離成功只有一步之遙，但最終失敗告終”的意思。