To mistake a real event for a dream or an illusion; to dismiss a tangible experience as a fantasy, often after losing it.
他辛辛苦苦完成的计划突然搁浅，他只好安慰自己，这不过是蕉鹿之梦，一切都是幻觉。
His painstakingly completed plan suddenly fell through, and he had to comfort himself that it was merely a 'banana-leaf deer dream,' all an illusion.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Story:
Once upon a time, a man from the State of Zheng was cutting firewood in the wilderness. He saw a wounded deer running towards him, so he killed it.
Fearing that hunters might pursue it, he hid the dead deer in a small ditch and covering it with some banana leaves he had cut.
When night fell, he wanted to find the deer and carry it home, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Therefore, he had to give up and simply regarded the entire event as if he had dreamt it.
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