One very hot day in summer a young man wanted to go from Athens to Megara. He gave some money to a man who had an ass, and said to him, “Take me to Megara on your ass.”
“All right,” said the man, and they started at once.
In the middle of the day the sun was shining very brightly. It was so hot that the young man got off the ass's back and sat down in the animal's shadow.
“It is not so hot here in the ass's shadow,” he said. “I shall rest a little.”
“No, you won't,” cried the driver. “It is my ass, and I shall sit in his shadow.”
“But,” said the young man. “I paid you for the ass.”
“Yes,” the driver said. “You paid me for the ass, but you did not pay me for the ass's shadow.”
“I paid you for the ass,” cried the young man again. “And I shall sit in his shadow!”
“No, you won't!” cried the driver. And he pushed the young man into the hot sun, and sat in the ass's shadow.
Then the young man tried to push the driver out of the ass's shadow.
“Get up!” he cried. “I paid you for the ass, and I shall sit in his shadow.”
Soon they were making so much noise that the ass ran away, and he took his shadow with him.
盛夏的一天，一个年轻人要从雅典到麦加拉去。他找了一个牵驴的，给了对方一些钱，说：“用你的驴把我送到麦加拉去吧。”
“行啊。”牵驴的说，两人立马上了路。
时至正午，烈日炎炎。天太热，年轻人下了驴，坐在驴的影子里。
“在驴的影子里挺凉快嘛，”他说，“我要休息一会儿。”
“不行，”牵驴的说。“这是我的驴，它的影子要坐也是我坐。”
“可是，”年轻人说，“我给过你骑驴的钱啦。”
“对，”牵驴的说，“你是给我骑驴的钱了，可你没给我驴影子的钱啊。”
“我付了骑驴的钱，”年轻人又嚷起来，“我就要坐在它的影子里！”
“不行，你不能坐！”牵驴的说。他把年轻人推进大太阳地，自己一屁股坐在驴影子里。
之后，年轻人又把牵驴的从驴影子里推了出来。
“你起来！”他喊：“我给过你骑驴的钱了，就该我坐在驴影子里。”
很快，两人就大吵起来，驴趁乱跑了，影子也跟着跑了。
无谓的争执即便胜利，也是虚空。