To be so focused on immediate gain or a small advantage that one fails to foresee a greater danger or threat lurking behind; short-sighted pursuit of something without considering the larger risks.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Antonym:
Story:
During the Spring and Autumn period, King Shoumeng of Wu intended to attack the State of Chu and forbade his ministers from expressing dissenting opinions.
A son of one of the ministers, upon hearing this, took his slingshot to the royal garden to hunt birds. King Wu asked him what he was doing. He replied that he was watching a mantis catching a cicada on a tree, while behind it, an oriole was waiting to eat the mantis.
King Wu felt that his own situation was similar to that of the mantis, and thus had to cancel his plan.