Once, a fox and a hare became friends with the purpose of defending themselves against their joint enemy, the hunters, and made an oath to each other: To the same life and death, through thick and thin. One day, they were enjoying the natural beauty together in the fields when a party of hunters came and shot the hare dead. The fox had a narrow escape. After the hunters had gone, the fox came and wept over the death of his mate.
An elderly gentleman who happened to pass by was surprised at the scene. Curiously, he asked the fox the reason of her bitter weeping.
The fox sorrowfully replied: "We are small animals. Being the prey of hunters, we had planned to defend ourselves against our joint enemy, the hunters, and promised to share life and death through thick and thin. Now our enemy has killed my companion. His death may mean the death of me tomorrow. We are real friends and real friends must share everything. How could I not help weeping!"
"Oh, I see. You have good reasons to weep over the death of such a partner," exclaimed the elderly gentleman.
The idiom, "The fox is sad at the death of the hare," comes from the story above, illustrating how one feels sad for the death or misfortunes of his companions.
tù sǐ hú bēi
兔死狐悲
?????? 從前，一只兔子和一只狐貍為對付共同的敵人——獵人，彼此聯盟發誓：要同生死，共患難。一天，他們正在田野里享受大自然的美景，不料一群獵人突然前來，一箭就射死了兔子，狐貍也險遭不測。獵人走后，狐貍就跑到兔子身旁，哀泣悲悼。
?????? 有個長者經過，看見狐貍在兔子旁邊哭泣，覺得奇怪，就問狐貍哭泣的原因。
?????? 狐貍悲哀地說：“我和兔子同樣是微小的動物，是獵人捕獵的對象。我們相約共同對敵，共生死，同患難。現在我的同盟被獵人射死，他今日的死亡，意味著我明天的死亡。我們是真正的朋友，我哪能不傷心哭泣呢！”
?????? 長者聽了，嘆著氣，說：“你為這樣的同伴哀悼哭得有理！”
?????? 成語“兔死狐悲”就源自這個故事，表示因同類的死亡或不幸而感到悲傷。
fèi qǐn wàng shí
廢寢忘食
(to be so absorbed or occupied as to) forget all about food and sleep; (work day and night) without eating or sleeping
