一天，梁惠王见到孟子，说:
One day, King Hui of Liang met Mencius and said:
“你看看邻国的政治多么糟糕!
"What a mess the political state of our neighbouring countries is in!
他们治国不为老百姓着想！
When they govern their states, they never think of the people.
而我每当河西闹了灾，就把灾民迁到河东;
But when there is a flood in Henei, I move the victims of the calamity to Hedong.
河东遭了难，我又把灾民迁到河西来。
When there is a calamity in Hedong, I move the people there to Henei.
还调拨粮食救济他们。对于治理国家。
I also allocate them food for calamity relief.
我是尽了自己最大的努力了。”
I have really done my best to govern my country."
孟子听了惠王的话，点头表示赞同。
As Mencius heard this, he nodded in agreement.
梁惠王接着说:
King Hui of Liang went on to say:
“可是，我的百姓人数却没有增加，而邻国的百姓人数也不见得减少呀!
"Yet my population has not increased and our neighbouring countries' population has not decreased.
你说，这究竟是什么原因?”
Tell me, what exactly is the reason?"
孟子想了想回答说:
Mencius thought this over and replied:
“大王喜欢打仗。
"Your Majesty likes wars.
请允许我用打仗来打个比方吧!
Please allow me to use war as an analogy.
战场上，杀声震天。
On the battlefield, the sound of fighting shakes the heavens.
两军对峙，相持不下，但是一定会有胜负。
The two armies are locked in a stalemate, but there is surely to be either victory or defeat.
被打败的士兵丢盔弃甲，抱头逃命。其中，有的人逃了五十步就停下来。
The defeated soldiers, throwing away their helmets and armour, flee for their lives.
有的人逃了一百步也停了下来。
Some of them flee 50 steps and then stop, while others flee 100 steps and stop.
这时候，逃了五十步的人，嘲笑逃了一百步的人胆小怕死。
Then, those who flee 50 steps laugh at those who flee 100 steps for their cowardice.
大王，您说这种嘲笑对不对?”
Your Majesty, do you think it is right to laugh?"
惠王听了，拍着桌子，说:
Upon hearing this, King Hui struck the table and said:
“当然不对，不管逃五十步，还是逃一百步，一样是逃兵啊!”
"Of course not. No matter whether they flee 50 steps or 100 steps, they are deserters just the same."
孟子笑着说道:
Mencius smiled and said:
“大王，既然您明白这个道理，那么您也就不要希望您的百姓会比邻国多了。”
"Your Majesty, since you understand this truth, you can notexpect your population to be larger than that of your neighbouring countries."