功亏一篑 — “To fail for lack of a final basket of earth (to complete a nine-fathom mound)”

In ancient times, there was a man who aimed to build a mountain nine 'ren' tall (one 'ren' equals eight 'chi'). He toiled year after year, enduring scorching summers and freezing winters, often forgetting to eat and sleep. He tirelessly dug earth from afar, carried it in baskets, and piled it onto the nascent mountain.

Finally, the day came when his colossal project was almost complete. As on any other day, he rose with the crow of the rooster and began his work. Basket after basket, the mountain neared its nine-ren height, needing just one more basketful of earth to be finished. However, feeling his stomach rumble with hunger and seeing snow begin to fall, he thought, 'It's just one more basket; I'll go home now.'

After that, he always put off the final task, convincing himself it was only one basket's worth of effort. Consequently, he never added that last basket of earth until his dying day. Ultimately, the mountain, which was just one basket of earth short of reaching its full nine-ren height, remained unfinished.