During the Warring States period, the Minister of Rites of the State of Chu rewarded his helpers with a jug of wine. As there was not enough wine to go around, everyone decided to hold a snake drawing competition. Whoever finished drawing the snake first would win the jug of wine. 

Once the competition started, one man completed his drawing in no time. He reached out for the wine while laughing at the others for drawing so slowly. He said he even had the time to add legs to his snake! 

By then, someone else also finished drawing his snake. He grabbed the wine and said, “Snakes do not have legs! Therefore, what you have drawn is not a snake, and this wine belongs to me. ”The man who added legs to his snake lost his prize because he did something unnecessary.

戰國時代，楚國有個負責祭祀的人，把一壺酒賞給幫忙做事的人喝。因為酒少人多，所以大家決定比賽畫蛇，誰先把蛇畫好，誰就可以喝那壺酒。

大家開始畫蛇後，有一個人一下子就把蛇畫好， 伸手拿了酒來喝，邊喝邊笑其他人畫得太慢，他還有時間可以給蛇畫上腳呢！

這時第二個人也畫好了，就把酒搶過去，說：「蛇怎麼會有腳？你畫的不是蛇，所以這壺酒是我的。」那個最先畫完的人就因為「畫蛇添足」，最後只好看著別人把酒喝光。