In the vast East China Sea, there was a huge turtle. It carried the Penglai Fairy Mountain on its head, floated and swam in the great sea, sometimes soaring into the sky and sometimes diving to the bottom of the sea.

A red ant on land heard of the huge turtle's magnificent feat1 and was pleasantly surprised. Thereupon, it called together a big swarm2 of ants to come to the seashore to have a good look to broaden their minds. They waited for over a month, but the huge turtle did not appear on the sea. When they were about to return, the sea wind suddenly sprang up and great waves surged up, shaking the land like thunder. The swarm of ants exclaimed: "Ah, now the huge turtle is about to come out."

A few days afterwards, the wind abated3, the waves calmed down, and the sea was tranquil4 again. A mountain as high as the sky could be faintly seen rising from the surface of the water and sometimes moving westward5. The swarm of ants stretched their heads to watch it for a while, and then expressed their opinions: "Why, what's the difference between its carrying a high mountain on its head and our carrying grains of rice on ours? We crawl along the ants' hill leisurely6 and freely, and return to our hole to rest. That is: Each has a role to play. Why should we waste our energy and cover several hundred li to watch it?"