A Fable

There were two high mountains,and on the very top of each mountain stood of castle. Down in the valley a dog was running. It sniffed along the ground as if, to stay its hunger, of the castles the trumpet sounded announcing that dinner was ready. At once the dog started running up the mountain to get a little, too. But just as it had come halfway, the trumpeter stopped blowing, and a trumpet from the other castle began. Then the dog thought, "They will have finished eating here before I come, but over there they will have just began." And so down it went and ran up the other mountain. But now the trumpet at the first castle started blowing again, whereas the other had stopped. Once more the dog ran down one mountainand up the other, and he kept on in this way until both trumpets were at last silent and the meal would be at an end no matter to which place the dog came.
Guess now what the sages of antiquity wish to imply by this fable and which of us it alludes to, who wears himself out in this fashion winning either here or there.

寓言一则

从前有两座高山，每座山顶都坐落着一个城堡。下面的山谷里有一只狗在奔跑。他在地面嗅来嗅去，好像是为了充饥，不断地在寻觅耗子和鹌鹑。突然，一座城堡里吹响了喇叭声，预告大家开饭了。这只狗顿时朝山上跑去，也想弄点吃的。可是他刚跑到半路，吹喇叭的停了下来，而另一座城堡的喇叭开始吹响了。这时狗思付道，“我还没到他们这里就吃完了，可是他们那里才刚刚开始吃。”于是他就跑下山脚向另一座山顶。
现在大家不妨猜测一下，透过这个寓言，古代的神仙希望表明什么含义，它映射的又是我们当中的那些人，就是这么心猿意马苦折腾，而两面都得不到结果。