There was, a man who came to the palace of the State of Chu and gave the guard a kind of medicine for immortality to be presented to the king.

有一个人来到楚国王宫，把一种长生不死的药交给守卫官，请他敬献给国王。

As the guard held the medicine in both hands and walked towards the inner palace, he met an archer of the bodyguard. The archer asked him:

守卫官捧着药朝内宫走去，迎面碰上卫队的一个弓箭手。弓箭手问他:

"Is what you hold in hands edible?"

“你手里捧的东西，人可以吃吗?”

The guard answered: "Of course, it is."

守卫官回答:“人可以吃。”

Upon hearing this, the archer snatched the medicine, stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it.

弓箭手听了，一把夺过药，塞到嘴里就吞了下去。

The King of Chu was very angry. He ordered to have the archer beheaded.

楚王非常生气，下令将这个弓箭手斩首。

The archer said: "It is not my fault but the fault of the guard, because he told me `It is edible.' "

弓箭手说:“这不是我的过错，而是守卫官的过错，因为他回答我‘人可以吃。”，

Then he continued: "This is a medicine for immortal life.

又说:“这是不死之药。

Now I have taken it, but I am going to be killed by Your Majesty.

现在我吃了，反而要被大王处死。

Then, the so-called medicine for immortal life will become `a medicine hastening death', won't it?

那么，这不死之药，不就成了‘催死之药’了吗?

The man who presented this medicine was trying to deceive Your Majesty."

这是献药的人在欺骗大王呀!”

Finally he said: "If today Your Majesty should kill me, an innocent man,

最后说:“今天，如果大王杀了我这个无罪的人，

then people would say: `The King would rather be deceived than believe his own bodyguard.'"

那么众人就会说:‘大王宁愿被人欺骗，也不愿意相信自己的卫士。”

While the King of Chu heard this, he felt that there was something in what the archer said, so he let him go.

楚王听了，觉得这些话有点道理，就把弓箭手放了。