Zhuang Zhou was poor and went to borrow grain from the Marquis of Jianhe. The marquis answered: “Yes. I am about to collect the taxes of my town. Then I will lend you three hundred pieces of gold. Will that do?”
Zhuang Zhou flushed with anger. On his way, he said, he had seen a carp in the rut of a cart, asking for a little water to stay alive. He had promised to go south to the kings of Wu and Yue and turn the West River to meet it. The carp answered that it would be better to “look for me early in the dried-fish shop.” (Zhuangzi, External Things)