从前，有一个商人带着一头骆驼经过一片森林。途中，他发现了一个大瓮（一种盛水的大陶器），于是将骆驼和瓮一起藏在了树丛中。然而，当他试图把骆驼牵出时，骆驼的腿被瓮卡住了，怎么也拉不出来。

商人非常着急，心想：“如果就这样离开，不仅损失了骆驼，还浪费了这个瓮。”于是，他决定牺牲骆驼来保住瓮。他拿起斧头，狠下心砍断了骆驼的腿，终于让骆驼挣脱了瓮。然而，当商人兴冲冲地准备取走瓮时，却发现瓮已经摔成了碎片，根本无法使用。最终，他不仅失去了骆驼，连瓮也毁了，两手空空地离开了。

译文：

In ancient times, there was a merchant who was leading a camel through a forest. On the way, he spotted a large jar (a large ceramic container used for storing water). He decided to hide both the camel and the jar in the bushes. However, when he tried to lead the camel out, its leg got stuck in the jar. Frustrated, he thought: "If I leave like this, not only will I lose the camel, but also waste the jar." Therefore, he made up his mind to sacrifice the camel to save the jar. With an axe in hand, he cut off the camel's leg, finally freeing the camel from the jar. But when he happily went to take the jar, he found it had already broken into pieces and could no longer be used. In the end, he lost not only the camel but also the jar, leaving him empty-handed.

寓意：

这个故事告诉我们，有时候为了追求小的利益或避免暂时的损失，人们可能会做出极端的选择，结果却导致更大的损失。它提醒我们，在面对问题时要冷静思考，权衡利弊，避免因小失大。同时，这也反映了盲目行动可能导致不可挽回的后果的道理。

通过这个故事，我们可以学到，在生活中遇到困难时，应该理性分析，寻找最优解决方案，而不是一味地执着于眼前的小利益而忽视长远的影响。