古代寓言原是民间口头创作，文学体裁的一种。含有讽喻或明显教训意义的故事。它的结构简短。主人公可以是人，可以是动物，也可以是无生物。多借用比喻手法，使富有教训意义的主题或深刻的道理在简单的故事中体现，而还需要自己去理解，思考，这就是和西方寓言的不同之处。

《古代寓言·一个洞的“网”》

语有之曰：“有鸟将来，张罗待之，得鸟者一目也。”

今为一目之罗，无时得鸟矣。

——《申鉴》

One-Hole Nets

There is an old saying, "No matter how big a net one may spread, each bird is caught in a single hole."

Now a person was so fascinated by this witticism that he took a number of pieces of string and made separate loops of them by tying the ends together.

Consequently never once did he catch a bird with those "nets."

--Shen Jian

（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）

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