In order to get rid of mice, a person of the state of Zhao got himself a cat that was good at catching mice for that purpose.

That cat not only caught mice but also ate chicken. As a result, there was no mouse in that man's house any more, but there were very few chicken left too.

His son wanted to get rid of this chicken-eating cat, but the said, "It is the mice not the cat that is the bane to us. The mice steal our food, damage our clothes, and drill holes in the wall, and ruin our furniture. If we didn't get rid of them, we would suffer from hunger and cold. So we must get rid of them! Without chicken, we just don't have chicken to eat at the most, but far from suffering from hunger and cold. So why get rid of the cat?"

一個趙國人為了捕鼠，特地弄回一只善于捕老鼠的貓。

這只貓擅長捕鼠，也喜歡吃雞，結果趙國人家中的老鼠被捕光了，但雞也所剩無幾。

做兒子的想把雞的貓弄走，父親卻說：“禍害我們家的是老鼠而不是雞。老鼠偷我們的食物，咬壞我們的衣服，挖穿我們的墻壁，損壞我們的家具，不除掉它，我們就會挨餓受凍，所以必須除掉它!沒有雞，充其量不吃罷了，離挨餓受凍還遠著哩。為什么要把貓趕走呢?”