两小儿辩品优（Two Children Debating the Quality of Products）
Chinese Version
孔子东游，见两小儿辩于市。问其故。
一儿曰：“吾以众者为上。夫用者众，则其物良也。苟不善，则人皆弃之，何来众用哉？譬如市中之饼，香而味美，则人争相购之，门庭若市。又如驿路之马，健而善走，则人皆愿乘之，络绎不绝。此皆因其良而众用也。”
一儿曰：“吾以众者为下。夫用者众，则其物滥也。人之所以从众，盖因循旧道，未见其优者耳。譬如城中之井，初汲者甚寡，则水清而甘。及汲者渐众，则水浊而味苦。又如山中之兰，独秀于野，则其香清远。及移植于市，人皆赏之，则其香渐减。此皆因其滥而众用也。”
孔子不能决。
两小儿笑曰：“孰为汝多知乎？”
English Version
Confucius was traveling east and saw two children arguing in the marketplace. He asked them why.
One child said, "I believe that the more popular a product or service is, the better it is. If many people use it, it must be of good quality. If it were bad, everyone would abandon it, so how could it be widely used? For example, if a cake in the market is fragrant and delicious, people will flock to buy it. Or if a horse at a post station is strong and a good runner, everyone will want to ride it. These are popular because they are good."
The other child said, "I believe that the more popular a product or service is, the worse it becomes. The reason most people follow the crowd is that they are sticking to the familiar path and have not discovered better options. For instance, a well in the city, when few people draw from it, the water is clear and sweet. But as more people draw from it, the water becomes turbid and bitter. Or an orchid growing alone in the mountains has a pure and far-reaching fragrance. But when it is transplanted to the marketplace for all to admire, its fragrance diminishes. These become worse because they are widely used."
Confucius could not decide which of them was right.
The two children laughed and said, "Who says you are a man of great knowledge?"