Lin Yutang’s Translation: After a few days, he took leave of them and left. The villagers begged him not to tell the people outside about their colony. The man found his boat and came back, marking a mental note of the direction of the route he had followed. He went to the magistrate’s office and told the magistrate about it. The latter sent someone to go with him and find the place, but they got lost and could never find it again.
Moral:
This fisherman isn’t a man of his word and doesn’t know how to keep a secret. He must have promised the innocent people of the secluded colony that he won’t tell its existence to the outside world. But the moment he exits, he must be already changing his mind. The moral of this Tao’s 1600-year-old story is not to naively believe those who are given to making promises. (This comic interpretation is not so much edifying as diverting of course.)
