“望梅止渴” (Looking at plums to quench thirst) 是一个由中国寓言故事演化而来的成语。现在，这个词比喻人们在愿望无法实现后，用空想安慰自己的情况。
东汉末年，曹操带兵去攻打张绣，一路行军，走得非常辛苦。时值盛夏，太阳火辣辣地挂在空中，散发着巨大的热量，大地都快被烤焦了。曹操的军队已经走了很多天了，十分疲乏。这一路上又都是荒山秃岭，没有人烟，方圆数十里都没有水源。将士们想尽了办法，始终都弄不到一滴水喝。头顶烈日，战士们一个个被晒得头昏眼花，大汗淋淋，可是又找不到水喝，大家都口干舌燥，感觉喉咙里好像着了火，许多人的嘴唇都干裂得不成样子，鲜血直淌。每走几里路，就有人倒下中暑死去，就是身体强壮的士兵，也渐渐地快支持不住了。
曹操目睹这样的情景，心里非常焦急。他策马奔向旁边一个山岗，在山岗上极目远眺，想找个有水的地方。可是他失望地发现，龟裂的土地一望无际，干旱的地区大得很。再回头看看士兵，一个个东倒西歪，早就渴得受不了，看上去怕是难得再走多远了。
曹操是个聪明的人，他在心里盘算道：这一下可糟糕了，找不到水，这么耗下去，不但会贻误战机，还会有不少的人马要损失在这里，想个什么办法来鼓舞士气，激励大家走出干旱地带呢？
曹操想了又想，突然灵机一动，脑子里蹦出个好点子。他就在山岗上， 抽出令旗指向前方，大声喊道：“前面不远的地方有一大片梅林，结满了又大又酸又甜的梅子，大家再坚持一下，走到那里吃到梅子就能解渴了！”
战士们听了曹操的话，想起梅子的酸味，就好像真的吃到了梅子一样，口里顿时生出了不少口水，精神也振作起来，鼓足力气加紧向前赶去。就这样，曹操终于率领军队走到了有水的地方。
“Looking at plums to quench thirst” is an idiom derived from a Chinese fable. Now, the term is used to describe the situation in which a person comforts himself or herself with false hopes when his or her wishes are not fulfilled.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, the founder of the Cao Wei regime during the Three Kingdoms Period, led his army to attack Zhang Xiu. It was the height of summer, and the sun was burning in the sky, giving off so much heat that the earth was almost scorched.
Cao Cao’s army had been walking for many days and was very tired. All along the road, there were no people and no water for dozens of miles around. The soldiers did their best but could not get a drop of water to drink. Under the hot sun, the soldiers were dizzy and sweaty, but they could not find water to drink. Their mouths were parched, and their throats felt as if they were on fire. Many of their lips were cracked and bloody. Every few miles, some men fell and died of heatstroke. Even the strong soldiers were beginning to wear out.
Cao Cao was very anxious when he saw this. He galloped to a nearby hill and looked as far as he could for some water. But he was disappointed to find that the parched land stretched as far as the eye could see, and the dry areas were vast. Looking back at the soldiers, he found that they tottered about, so thirsty that they seemed unlikely to go much further.
Cao Cao was a wise man. He thought to himself, “It would be too bad to find water. If we go on wasting our time, we would not only miss the battle but also lose a lot of our troops. What can be done to boost morale and motivate soldiers to get out of the dry zone?”
Cao Cao thought over and over again, and on a sudden inspiration, a good idea popped out of his mind. On the hill, he pulled out his flag and pointed to the front, shouting, “There is a large forest of plums not far ahead. They are covered with big, sour, and sweet plums. Hold on a bit longer, and you can quench your thirst if you go there and eat the plums!”
When the soldiers heard Cao Cao’s words, they remembered the sour taste of the plums and felt as if they had eaten them. Their mouths watered at once. They cheered up and hurried forward with all their strength. In this way, Cao Cao finally led his army to a place where there was water.
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