To be insatiably greedy, desiring something far beyond one's capacity; to be excessively ambitious or covetous, often leading to failure.
他妄想用小成本去垄断整个市场，真是一蛇吞象，结果可想而知。
He vainly tried to monopolize the entire market with a small investment, which was truly a case of a snake trying to swallow an elephant; the outcome was predictable.
Era:
Ancient
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Story:
Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a poor hunter named A Xiang. While hunting in the forest, he rescued a starving young snake and brought it home, meticulously caring for it.
The little snake gradually grew into a green snake and developed human-like intelligence, often bringing back valuable items from outside to repay A Xiang.
However, A Xiang repeatedly demanded more from the green snake, hoping to become extremely wealthy. Eventually, the enraged green snake swallowed the insatiably greedy fellow in one gulp.
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