在《莊子》這部古書中，
有一個寓言故事趣味濃：
說是古代有個人，
最大的興趣是養猴子。
別的飼料也沒有，
喂猴全部用橡實。
每隻猴每天早上喂三個，
晚上那頓喂四隻。
過不久，猴子個個提意見，
怨恨主人太小氣。
要求食物再增加，
不然抗議要絕食。
這人一聽哈哈笑，
連說這是好建議。
於是他改成早上喂四個，
晚上那頓給三隻。
愚蠢的猴子都高興，
盡管肚子還會饑。
“朝三暮四”作成語，
常形容，玩弄手法把人欺，
也比喻有人經常會變卦，
做事缺乏準主意。
Three in the Morning and
Four in the Evening
In the ancient book“Zhuang Zi”，there was a very interesting fable。It told that in the ancient times，there was a man whose hobby was to raise monkeys。He fed them with only oak cones，and nothing else。He gave each monkey three in the morning，and he gave each four for the evening meal。By and by，the monkeys began to plain。They bad-mouthed their host as a miser，and they wanted more of their food，otherwise they would go on a hunger strike。
This man replied with ready laughter，and said that it was a good suggestion。Then he gave them four cones for their morning meal，and three cones for the evening meal。The foolish monkeys were all very pleased，though they were still very hungry。
“Three in the Morning and Four in the Evening”as an idiom indicates someone who blows hot and cold，or someone who chops and changes，and rides over the fence。