画蛇添足
画蛇的时候又给它添上了脚。比喻做多余的事,反而把事情弄坏。
Drawing a snake and then adding feet — doing something extra and unnecessary that only ruins what you had.
古时候,楚国有几个人一起喝酒。酒只有一壶,大家都想喝,却不够分。有人出主意说:“我们每个人画一条蛇,谁先画好,这壶酒就归谁。”大家都同意了。
大家拿起笔来,埋头画起蛇。有一个人画得最快,一会儿就画好了。他拿起酒壶,正要喝,却一边得意地看着别人,说:“我画得又快又好,还能给蛇添上几只脚呢!”
他说着,就在蛇的身边添上了脚。这时,另一个人也画完了,一把抢过酒壶说:“蛇本来没有脚,你画上脚,那就不是蛇了。这壶酒应该归我。”说完,他就把酒喝了。
那个画蛇添足的人只能又后悔又生气,一口酒也没喝到。
“画蛇添足”这个成语就是从这里来的,用来形容那种多此一举、把事情弄坏的做法。
Long ago in the state of Chu, a few friends sat down to share a jug of wine. There was only one jug, and it wasn't enough for everyone. Someone suggested, “Let's each draw a snake on the ground. Whoever finishes first wins the whole jug.” They all agreed.
They bent over their drawings. One man finished very quickly. He reached for the jug, but instead of drinking right away, he smiled proudly at the others and said, “I was so fast, I even have time to add feet to my snake!”
He began drawing feet beside the snake. Just then, another man finished his own drawing, snatched up the jug, and said, “Snakes don't have feet. What you drew isn't a snake anymore — so the wine is mine.” And he drank it down.
The man who had added the feet could only sit there regretting it, without a single sip of wine.
From this comes “drawing a snake and adding feet” — doing one extra thing that spoils everything you had already earned.
Let's