Waiting by the stump for more hares

There was a peasant in the state of Song. One day a hare dashed up, knocked against the stump in his field, broke its neck and fell dead.

Then the peasant put down his hoe and waited by the stump for another hare to turn up. No more hares appeared, however; but he became the laughing-stock of the state.

Allegorical Meaning

A farmer accidentally catches a hare that crashes into a tree stump. He abandons farming to wait daily for more hares to repeat the event, ultimately ruining his livelihood. The stump—a symbol of chance—becomes the farmer’s downfall when he mistakes it for a strategy.

Folly of Passive Luck:

Critiques the delusion that rare, accidental success (the hare) is replicable through inaction.

Productivity vs. Wishful Thinking:

Contrasts hard work (farming) with lazy opportunism (waiting), highlighting how the latter destroys sustainability.

Cognitive Bias:

Exposes the “gambler’s fallacy” — mistaking randomness (the hare’s accident) for a predictable pattern.