齊王患之，使人召淳于髡曰：「楚、魏謀欲伐齊，願先生與寡人共憂之。
Worried at this, the Qi king had a man summon Chunyu Kun85 and said to him, “Chu and Wey are laying plans for an attack on Qi.
」淳于髡大笑而不應，王復問之，又復大笑而不應，三問而不應，王怫然作色曰：「先生以寡人國為戲乎？
I would like you to join me in thinking about this matter.” Chunyu Kun let out a great laugh and made no reply.
」淳于髡對曰：「臣不敢以王國為戲也，臣笑臣鄰之祠田也，以奩飯與一鮒魚，其祝曰：『下田洿邪，得榖百車，蟹堁者宜禾。
The king repeated his request, and he again laughed loudly and made no reply.
』臣笑其所以祠者少，而所求者多。
After the third rebuff, the king, provoked, said, “Do you regard the affairs of my state, sir, as a joke?” “I dare not regard Your Majesty’s state affairs as a joke,” replied Kun. “I was rather laughing at the way my neighbor prays to the god of his fields.
」王曰：「善。
Offering a box of rice and a minnow, he prays like this: ‘May I obtain a hundred cartloads of grain from my low and humid fields, and may my high and arid fields be suitable for wheat.’ I was laughing because the items he offered were so meager, and the things he prayed for were so great.” “Good point!” said the king.
」賜之千金，革車百乘，立為上卿。
He then presented Kun with a thousand gold pieces and a hundred leather-upholstered carriages and made him a minister of state.
Yang Hu Fails to Promote the Right People