《古代寓言·胆小怕鬼的人》（中英对照）

夏首之南，有人焉，曰涓蜀梁。其为人也，愚而善畏。明月而宵行，俯见其影，以为伏鬼也。仰视其发，以为立魅也。背而走，比至其家，失气而死。

——《荀子》

The Man Who was afraid of Ghosts

There was once a man of southern Xia Shou by the name of Juan Zhu who was both slow-witted and cowardly.

Walking along a road one moonlit night, he saw his own shadow on the ground in front of him.

“It’s a ghost crouching there!” he thought to himself.

Looking up, he saw a strand of hair dangling in front of his eyes.

“Ooh! It’s standing up now!” he thought.

He was so frightened he turned around and began to shuffle backwards.

As soon as he reached his home, he dropped to the ground, dead.

Xun Zi