Chinese Fables
Selected and Retold by Mary W. Ng
The Traveller
From Zhanguo Ce
There was once a man who had to travel to the State of Chu. After travelling for some time, he wanted to find out how far he still had to go.
“Please tell me how far I am from the State of Chu,” the traveller asked a passer-by.
“To get to the State of Chu, you must go south,” said the passer-by. “Why are you heading north?”
“I have fast horses,” replied the traveller.
“Your horses may be fast,” said the passer-by, “but you are not going in the right direction.”
“I have plenty of travel money,” said the traveller boastfully.
“You may have plenty of travel money,” replied the passer-by, “but you are not going in the right direction.”
“I have a capable driver,” returned the traveller.
“The better equipped you are, the further away from the State of Chu you will be,” the passer-by said sadly, shaking his head.
Knowing one's goal or destination is not enough. One must go in the right direction. When one is in the wrong direction, how one deals with the problem has bearing on the outcome of the matter.