有兩個貧苦的樵夫靠上山撿柴糊口，有一天，他們在山里發現兩大包棉花，兩人喜出望外。棉花輕且貴，當下倆人各背了一包棉花趕路回家。

There once were two poor woodsmen who made a living by collecting woods in the mountain. One day, they happened to discover two large bag of cotton in the mountain and felt surprisingly happy. The cotton was light but valuable, so they carried it on their back and went back home.

走著走著，其中一名樵夫眼尖，看到山路上扔著一大捆布，他就和同伴商量。扔下棉花，背布回家。他的同伴卻有不同的看法，認為自己背著棉花已走了一大段，到了這里丟下棉花，豈不枉費了先前的辛苦，堅持不愿換布。發現布的樵夫則盡其所能背起布走。又走了一段路，背布的樵夫望見不遠處的地上散落著數壇黃金。心想這下真的發財了，趕忙用挑柴的扁擔挑黃金。他的同伴仍是不愿丟下棉花，并懷疑黃金不是真的。發現黃金的樵夫只好自己挑了兩壇黃金，和背棉花的伙伴趕緊回家。

When they were walking home, one of the woodsmen spotted a large bundle of cloth beside the road. So he discussed with his partner whether to discard the cotton and take the cloth instead. But his partner held a different view that since he had carried the cotton for such a long way, he would not change it with cloth because all his previous effort would turn out to be in vain. Therefore, the other woodsman abandoned the cotton and carried the cloth on his back. After walking for a while, the woodsman who carried the cloth spotted several jars of gold disseminated on the ground not far away. He felt so thrilled that he was going to be a wealthy man. So he gave up the cloth and used his carrying pole to carry two jars of gold, while his partner was still reluctant to abandon the cotton and wondering whether the gold was real or not.