池塘的另一边，渔民董永正安安静静地过日子。 他虽然朴实天真，但他是个诚实善良的人。 他过着简单、安静的生活，对世俗的财产毫无兴趣。
On the other side of the pond, a fisherman, Dong Yong, was enjoying his day in peace. Though unsophisticated and naive, he was an honest man with a good heart. He lived a simple, quiet life, and was uninterested in earthly possessions.

他每隔一天去钓鱼一次。然而，今天的情况有所不同。 在竹筏上漂流的时候，董永发现了不寻常的事情：池塘里似乎没有鱼了。 在剩下的极少数锦鲤中，大多数都在向池塘的东端游去，除了一只正在向东蠕动并摇动鳍，好像想引起他的注意并告诉他在与其他鱼一起游走之前向东走。好奇，董永跟着这鱼去哪里。
He went fishing every other day. However, it was different today. As he drifted around on his bamboo raft, Dong Yong noticed something out of the ordinary. It seemed like the pond was devoid of fish. Of the very few koi left, most were swimming towards the east end of the pond, except for one which was wriggling and wagging its fins eastward, as if trying to catch his attention and telling him to go east before swimming away with the other fish. Intrigued, he followed where the fish went.