Professed love of what one really fears


　　Long ago, there was a person named Chu Zhuliang who addressed himself as "Lord Ye." It was said that this Lord Ye was very fond of dragons. The walls of his house had dragons painted on them, while the beams, pillars, doors, and windows were all carved with the creatures. As a result, word of his love for dragons spread.
　　When the real dragon in heaven heard of this Lord Ye, he was deeply moved. He decided to visit Lord Ye to thank him.

　　You might think Lord Ye was very happy to see a real dragon. But, actually, at very the sight of the creature, he was scared out of his wits and ran away as fast as he could.

　　From then on, people knew that Lord Ye only loved pictures or carvings that looked like dragons, but not the real thing.

        叶公好龙

　　春秋楚国沈诸梁，自称“叶公”。 据说，这位叶公爱龙成癖，家里的梁、柱、门、窗上都雕着龙，墙上也画着龙。 就这样，叶公爱好龙的名声，被人们传扬开了。天上的真龙，听说人间有这么一位叶公，对它如此喜爱，很受感动，决定去叶公家对他表示谢意。

　　人们也许会想叶公看见真龙时会有多高兴。实际上，当叶公看见那条龙时，顿时吓得魂飞魄散，赶紧逃走。

　　从此人们明白了叶公爱好的其实并不是真龙，而是似龙非龙的东西而已。