【成语来源】
get the casket and return the pearl买椟还珠
有个楚国人想在郑国出售一颗珍贵的珍珠。
He made a casket for the pearl out of the wood from a magnolia tree, which he fumigated with spices. He studded the casket with pearls and jade, ornamented it with red gems and decorated it with kingfisher feathers.
他用木兰为珍珠作了个匣子，用香料把匣子熏香，还用珠，玉，红宝石来加以装饰，并插上了翠鸟的羽毛。
A man of the state of Zheng bought the casket and gave him back the pearl.
一个郑国人买走了这个匣子，却把珍珠还给了他。
过于华丽的装饰往往会喧宾夺主。
This man from Chu certainly knew how to sell a casket but he was no good at selling his pearl. And the man of Zheng didn't know which is really valuable.
那个楚国人知道如何卖掉匣子，却不擅长出售珍珠（忽略了物品的重点，取舍不当）。至于买匣子的郑国人，他根本不懂什么才是真正有价值的。
【文化链接】
“买椟还珠”这个故事中那个买走了盒子却舍弃珍珠的郑国人其实“只注重了外表，却忽略了实质”，而英文中表达诸如此类的“买椟还珠”“以貌取人”意思的短语就可以用“judge a book by its cover”，直译也就是“光凭一本书的书皮，就判断书的内容的好坏”。
在英国达人秀中脱颖而出的草根明星“苏珊大妈”虽然没有华丽的外表，但是她以自己的实力一鸣惊人，所以苏珊大妈这个例子就告诉我们：Never judge a book by its cover.（不要买椟还珠/不要以貌取人）
严肃声明：《看故事学英语》系列文章属于沪江网原创内容，如无授权，请勿转载。中文翻译仅代表译者个人观点，仅供参考，如有不妥之处，欢迎指正。
