望梅止渴
wàng méi zhǐ kě
成语故事原文：
《世说新语·假谲》记载：曹操率领去盘踞在宛城的张绣。当时已经到了中午，烈日当空，天气十分炎热。将士们携带着沉重的武器，全身都被汗水，又热又渴，非常难受，给行军带来了严重影响。
曹操看行军速度越来越慢，担心错过战机，心里很是着急。可是，眼下几万人马连水都喝不上，又怎么能加快速度呢？于是，曹操脑筋一转，办法来了。他一夹马肚，快速赶到队伍前面，用马鞭指着前方说：“ 士兵们，我知道前面有一大片梅林，那里的梅子又大又好吃。我们快点赶路，绕过这个山丘，就可以吃到梅子啦！”士兵们一听，不禁流口水，精神大振，步伐也不由得加快了许多。
成语解释：
梅子酸，人想吃梅子就会流涎，因而止渴。后比喻愿望无法实现，用空想安慰自己。
成语翻译：
The story of “expecting plums to quench thirst” comes from the historical notes. According to the legend, when Cao Cao was leading his troops to fight against Zhang Xiu who was controlling the city of Wan, they came to a hot and dry place in the middle of the day. The soldiers were tired and thirsty, and their pace was slowing down.
Seeing this, Cao Cao came up with a clever idea. He激励 the soldiers by saying that there was a large梅林 of plums ahead, and that they would be able to eat the sweet and juicy plums after passing the hill. The soldiers, hearing this, were so excited that they forgot about their thirst and fatigue, and their pace increased.
In this way, Cao Cao was able to lead his troops to the front, all thanks to his clever trick of “expecting plums to quench thirst”. The phrase is now used to describe the act of安慰 oneself with false hopes or wishes, when the actual goal is unattainable.