功亏一篑

Once a man planned to build a terrace.

古时，有一个人要筑一座九仞(八尺=一仞)高的山。

He worked very hard and spent a lot of time digging and carrying earth.

他十分努力的建造这座山，并且花了很多时间挖土、搬运泥土。

When the mound was almost completed and only one more basket of earth was needed, the man gave up.

终于当山快要建成的时候，几乎只差最后一篮子的泥土就行了的时候，他放弃了。

The terrace was never completed.

这座山便永远无法完工。

This idiom means to fail to succeed for lack of final effort.

这个典故用以形容“离成功只有一步之遥，但最终失败告终”的意思。