有人问圣人：“为什么人会有高低贵贱之分呢？”圣人没有直接回答他的提问，而是反问他：“同样的一块布，穿在脚上是袜，披在身上是衣，戴在头上是冠，你认为它们有什么不同吗？”“没有什么不同啊，只不过是它们的作用不同罢了。”这个人回答，圣人又接着说到：“对于人来说，坐在龙椅上的是帝王，骑高头大马的是官宦，手握锄头的是农夫，左手持破瓦罐，右手拄根竹竿的是乞丐，他们都是同样的人啊！怎会会有高低贵贱之分呢？如果非要加以区分的话，那也只是龙椅、高头大马、锄头，瓦罐与竹竿的作用不同罢了，这和人又有什么关系呢？”

                          《蚂蚁寓言》第二十四章 高低贵贱

                                    作者  蜜蜂  

Ants’ Fables (24)  Superiority, Inferiority, the Noble and the Humble

A man asked the sage: “Why are people divided by the noble and humble, or the superior or inferior?” The sage didn’t reply him directly. Instead, he asked him: “the same piece of cloth, if you wear it on feet, it is called stockings, when you use it to protect your body, you call it dress; when wearing it on your head, and you call it a hat. Do you think they are different?” “No, they are the same piece of cloth, only different in function.” The man answered.

The sage said: “ to man, the one who seats in the dragon chair is called emperor, the one who is on a horse of large stature is called officer, the one who has a pickaxe in his hand is called farmer, and the one who has a broken china in one hand and a bamboo stick in the other is called beggar. They are all men. Why some are superior and noble while others are inferior and humble? If you have to classify, you can only differ the chair, the horse, the pickaxe and the broken china and bamboo stick. Do they have anything to do with men?