There is a story in "Hanshu" telling of a rich man, who being a lover of s and had a large collection. Among them was a rare vase made of jade. The vase of exquisite workmanship and of historical value and he loved it dearly. One night he noticed a mouse passing near the precious vase. The mouse jumped into the vase and was trying to eat some food which the man had carelessly left there. The sigh infuriated the man and in a fit of rage he threw a stone at the mouse. For sure, the mouse was killed, but the precious vase was broken also.

The loss of the vase pained the man greatly and he deeply regretted his own thoughtlessness, which bought him this unrecoverable loss.

He now realized that any one, who cares for the present and overlooks consequences is apt to bring disasters upon himself. So he exclaimed to warn people by saying do not burn you house to get rid of a mouse.

《汉书》中有这么个故事：有个富人，很喜欢古董并收藏了很多。其中有一件稀有的玉盂，工艺精湛，具有很高的历史价值，深受这个富人的喜爱。一天晚上，一只 老鼠跳进了这个玉盂，想去吃里边的一些剩菜，正巧被这个富人看到了。他非常恼火，盛怒之下，他拿了块石头砸向老鼠。当然，老鼠是被砸死了，可是那个珍贵的 玉盂也被打破了。这件事使富人非常难过，他深深后悔自己的鲁莽带来的不可挽回的损失。他认识到只考虑眼前，而忽视后果，将给自己带来灾难。他向世人发出警 告，不要为了除掉一只老鼠而烧毁自己的房子。

投鼠忌器 (tóu shǔ jì qì)
【翻译】to hesitate to pelt a rat for fear of smashing the dishes beside.
【释义】投：用东西去掷；忌：怕，有所顾虑。想用东西打老鼠，又怕打坏了近旁的器物。比喻做            事有顾忌，不敢放手干。
【例句】年轻人做事不要投鼠忌器，应该大胆地去开创未来。
【近义词】畏首畏尾、瞻前顾后
【反义词】无所畏惧、肆无忌惮