A man had opened up a fish market and he ordered a new sign painted of which he was very proud. It read: “Fresh Fish for Sale Hear.”

“What did you put the word 'fresh' in for ?” said his first customer. “You wouldn't sell them if they weren’t fresh, would you?”

He painted out the word, leaving just “Fish for Sale Here.”

“Why do you say 'here'?” asked his second customer. “You’re not selling them anywhere else, are you?”

So he rubbed out the word “here”.

“Why use 'for sale'?” asked the next customer. “You wouldn't have fish here unless they were for sale, would you?”

So he rubbed out everything but the word “fish.” Remarking: “Well, nobody can find fault with the sign now, anyway.”

A moment later another customer came in.

“I don’t see what’s the use in having that sign ‘Fish' up there,” said he, “when you can smell them a block away.”

And that's why the fish market has no sign.

    一个人开了一个鱼市场,叫人做了一个牌子, 上面写着"这里出售新鲜鱼." 他看着很高兴.

    “你为什么要写上'新鲜'呢?"第一个顾客问.”如果它们不新鲜,你就不会卖,是不是?”

他涂掉了这个词,只留下"这里出售鱼".

    “为什么你要写'这里'呢?”他的第二个顾客问,”你不会在其他地方卖鱼,是不是?”

于是他把"这里"二个字涂掉了.

    “为什么要写'出售'呢?” 接下来的顾客问.”你不卖鱼把鱼放在这里干什么呢? 你说是不是?”

    于是他把所有的字都擦去了,只剩下一个"鱼"字作招牌. 他想现在应该没人再来说我了吧.

    过了一会儿,又有一个顾客进来了.

   “我觉得你根本没必要写个'鱼'招牌在那里,”他说,”在一个街区以外,你就能闻到味道了.”

    这就是鱼市没招牌的原因.