8. The Boy and the Scorpion

A boy was hunting locusts (蝗虫) on a wall and had already caught a great number of them when he spied a scorpion (蝎子) and mistook it for another locust. Just as he was cupping his hand to catch it, the scorpion lifted up its sting (螯) and said, “Just you try, and you’ll not only lose me but all your locusts in the bargain!”