画蛇添足

画蛇添足 Adding Feet to a Snake

从前有几个人，一起得到了一壶酒。 Once, several men received a jug of wine to share.

酒不多，大家说：谁先画好一条蛇，谁就喝这壶酒。 There was not much wine, so they said, “Whoever draws a snake first will drink this jug of wine.”

有一个人画得最快，一转眼就画好了一条蛇。 One man drew the fastest. In the blink of an eye, he finished drawing a snake.

他看别人还没画完，就给蛇添上了几只脚。 Seeing that the others had not finished, he added several feet to his snake.

这时候另一个人画完了，把酒拿了过去。 Just then, another man finished his drawing and took the wine jug.

他说：蛇本来没有脚，你画的不是蛇。 He said, “Snakes do not have feet. What you drew is not a snake.”

多此一举，反而把好事弄坏。 Doing something unnecessary can ruin something good.

事情本来已经做好了，你又多加一笔，这就是画蛇添足。 The job was already done, but you added another stroke — this is 画蛇添足.