One day, Mr. Dongguo drove a donkey carrying a sack of books to the State of Zhongshan to seek an official post.
一天,東郭先生趕著一頭毛驢,背著一口袋書,去中山國(guó)謀求官職。
Suddenly, a wounded wolf scurried to him and begged:
突然,一只帶傷的狼竄到他的面前,哀求說:
"Sir, I am being pursued by a hunter. I was shot by an arrow and almost lost my life. I beg you to hide me in your sack, and I'll reward you well in the future."
“先生,我現(xiàn)在正被一位獵人追趕著,一箭射中,差一點(diǎn)送了性命。求求您把我藏在您的口袋里,將來我會(huì)好好報(bào)答您的。”
Mr. Dongguo said:
東郭先生說:
"By doing this I'll offend prominent officials, and face disaster. But I'll surely try to save you. This is something I ought to do."
“我這樣做,會(huì)得罪達(dá)官貴人,災(zāi)禍就會(huì)臨頭。不過,我一定想辦法救你,這是我應(yīng)該做的事情。”
At this moment, the wolf curled up its limbs. Mr. Dongguo tied it up with rope, put it into his sack, and drove the donkey to the roadside to let the hunter pass by.
這時(shí)候,只見狼蜷曲了四肢。東郭先生用繩子把它捆住,裝進(jìn)了口袋,把驢了趕到道旁,好讓獵人通過。
A moment later, the hunter came up and found the wolf missing. He asked Mr. Dongguo:
不一會(huì)兒,獵人追了上來,發(fā)現(xiàn)狼不見了,就問東郭先生:
"Have you seen a wolf? Where did it run off to?"
“你看見一只狼沒有?它往哪里跑了?”
Mr. Dongguo said:
東郭先生說:
"I haven't seen any wolf. This road leads to many byroads. The wolf may have escaped from one of them."
“我沒有看見狼。這條路岔道多,狼也許從岔道上逃走了。”
The hunter could do nothing but believe this to be true. So he turned around and left.
獵人聽了,無可奈何,也就信以為真。于是,他就轉(zhuǎn)身走了。
When the wolf heard the hoofbeats fade in the distance, it said in the sack:
狼等到聽不見馬蹄的聲音了,就在口袋里說:
"Sir, please let me out of the sack, untie the rope, pull out the arrow on my limb, and let me escape."
“先生,請(qǐng)您把我從口袋里放出來,解開捆我的繩子,拔掉我腿上的箭,讓我逃走吧!”
The kindhearted Mr. Dongguo, bewitched by its sweet words, released the wolf. But unexpectedly, the wolf howled at him:
仁慈的東郭先生,經(jīng)不起狼的花言巧語,果然把狼放了出來。誰料,狼卻曝叫著對(duì)東郭先生說:
"Please, sir, now I am so starved. Please let me devour you."
“求求先生,現(xiàn)在,我餓得不得了。請(qǐng)讓我吃掉您吧!”
Whereupon the wolf bared its teeth, brandished its claws, and pounced upon him. Mr. Dongguo fought the wolf bare-handed and kept on shouting:
說著,狼就張牙舞爪,撲向東郭先生。東郭先生徒手同狼搏斗,并且不住地叫道:
"You ungrateful wolf! You ungrateful wolf!"
“狼,忘恩負(fù)義!狼,忘恩負(fù)義!”
At this moment, an old peasant carrying a hoe passed by. Mr. Dongguo hurriedly got hold of him and asked him to pass judgement. The old peasant thought it over and said:
正在這時(shí),有個(gè)老農(nóng)民扛著鋤頭路過,東郭先生急忙拉住他,請(qǐng)他評(píng)理。老農(nóng)民想了想說:
"I don't believe either of you. How can this sack hold a wolf? Please do it again so I can see it with my own eyes."
“你們的話,我都不相信。這只口袋怎么能裝得下一只狼呢?請(qǐng)你再裝一下,讓我親眼看一看。”
The wolf agreed. Again it lay on the ground, curled up into a ball, let Mr. Dongguo tie it up with rope and put it in the sack. The old peasant tied up the sack tightly at once and said to Mr. Dongguo:
狼同意了。它又躺在地上,蜷作一團(tuán),讓東郭先生重新用繩子捆起來,裝進(jìn)了口袋。老農(nóng)民立即上前把袋口扎緊,對(duì)東郭先生說:
"This man-eating beast will never change its nature. It is too stupid and too dangerous to be kind to a wolf."
“這種吃人的野獸,決不會(huì)改變本性。對(duì)狼講仁慈,簡(jiǎn)直太糊涂了,太危險(xiǎn)了!”
Then, he raised his hoe and struck the wolf to death. Mr. Dongguo finally saw the light, and said to the old peasant:
說罷,掄起鋤頭,把狼打死了。東郭先生終于恍然大悟,對(duì)老農(nóng)民說:
"Thank you for saving my life today. I'll always remember this lesson."
“謝謝你今天救了我,我一定記住這個(gè)教訓(xùn)!”