In the state of Song, there was a farmer in whose fields stood a tree stump. One day, a hare ran to his field. Running too fast, it dashed against the stump and died, having broken its neck. So the farmer abandoned his plough and waited by the tree stump, hoping to get another hare. He did not get his by the hare but became a laughing stock in the state of Song.

    This idiom satirizes those who just wait for a stroke of luck, rather than making efforts to obtain what they need.