Shanshan: Once upon a time, there was a frog who lived in a well. One day, as the frog sat by the side of the well, he met a green turtle from the Eastern Sea.
The frog boasted to the turtle: “Look! How nice my well is and how happy I am to live in it! When I’m in high spirits, I jump on the rim of the well. When I’m tired, I’ll find a hole in the well wall to rest inside, or simply float comfortably on the water. If I feel like a walk, I can stroll on the soft mud. Look at those poor crabs, wrigglers and tadpoles! None of them can compare with me. I’m the master here, and my home is the most comfortable and pleasant place in the world. If you like, Mr. Turtle, you’re welcome to have a look down in my well.”
The turtle was fascinated by this colourful description. He wanted to see for himself what life in the well was like. But as soon as he moved his legs, he stumbled over the railing. He had to step back very carefully.
“It is so narrow and uncomfortable here,” the turtle said. Then he described the vast Eastern Sea and invited the frog to visit. “If you see the Eastern Sea, you’ll know how happy life there can be. You can swim for days without coming to the end. You’ll see loads of other sea life: sea horses, clownfish, sharks, whales, and eat various types of food . . . . . ”
The frog was dumbfounded. “I don’t believe any other place is better than the well.” He simply could not imagine the scenes the turtle was telling him. He dismissed all thoughts of the sea, and continued to sing the praises of his small home. “Home sweet home. Spacious, comfy, quiet……”
A: From that story comes the idiom Zuò Jǐng Guān Tiān 坐井观天 .
B: Literally translated as Sit at the bottom of a well and look at the sky.
A: People use it to describe someone who has a very narrow view of things or someone who has very limited wisdom and experience.
B: Another idiom derived from this fable: Jǐng Dǐ Zhī Wā 井底之蛙 — a frog at the bottom of a well.
A: Wa is the Chinese word for frog. Jǐng Dǐ Zhī Wā is a metaphor for a person with a very limited outlook.
(Source:english.cri.cn)