The Archer Who Never Shot

 

One day the famous archer “Genglei” and the king of “Wei”, standing beneath a high platform, saw a bird flying from the east. The archer said to the king, “I can shoot the bird down just by drawing my bowstring.” “You mean archery can reach as high a level as this?” asked the king.  “Yes,” the archer answered.

A moment later the bird flew near. It was a solitary wild goose. “Genglei” drew the bowstring, and the goose fell down at its twang. “So,” said the king, “archery can really reach such a level.” “Genglei” said, “This is a solitary goose, wounded and not yet recovered.” “How do you know that?” asked the king.  The archer answered, “It flew slowly because of the wounds and cried mournfully because it was separated from its flock. With the wounds unhealed, the goose had a lingering fear. Startled by the twang of the bowstring, it tried to soar to greater heights with all its might, which opened up the old wounds. The goose couldn’t stand the pain, so it fell down from the sky.”