一个老鼠夹

张祖平

A rat looked through a crack1 in the wall and saw the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain？ He was shocked to discover that it was a rat trap. Returning to the farmyard， the rat warned， “There is a rat trap in the house， a rat trap in the house！”

一只老鼠透过墙缝看到农夫和他的妻子打开了一个包裹。里面会是什么食物呢？老鼠心惊肉跳地发现是一个老鼠夹，它回到院子里警示大家：“房里有个老鼠夹，老鼠夹！”

The chicken raised her head and said， “Excuse me， Mr. Rat， this is a great concern to you， but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

一只小鸡抬头说道：“请问，老鼠先生，这对你来说是密切关注的大事儿，但对我来说，无关紧要，我不应该被它所困扰。”

The rat turned to the pig and told him， “There is a rat trap in the house！”

老鼠跑去告诉猪，“房里有个老鼠夹！”

“I am very sorry， Mr. Rat，” the pig said， “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray.”

“很抱歉，老鼠先生，”猪同情地说道，“但是对此我除了祈祷外，无能为力。”

The rat turned to the cow. She said， “Mr. Rat. A rat trap. I am in danger. Duh？”

老鼠来到母牛跟前，告诉它此事。母牛道：“老鼠先生，一个老鼠夹，我现在危险了，可能吗？”

So the rat returned to the house， head down and dejected2， to face the farmers rat trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house， like the sound of a rat trap catching a mouse. The farmers wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness， she did not see that it was a poison snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmers wife.

老鼠只能垂头丧气地回到房子里，独自面对农夫的老鼠夹。那天晚上，农夫的妻子听到一个类似老鼠夹逮住了老鼠的声音，她赶过去看个明白。在黑暗中，她没有看清那是一条毒蛇，毒蛇的尾巴被老鼠夹夹住了，它咬了农夫的妻子。

The farmer rushed to send her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup， so the farmer took his hatchet3 to the farmyard for the soups ingredient4. Unluckily， his wifes sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them， the farmer butchered5 the pig.

农夫赶紧把妻子送医院，出院回来的时候，她发烧了。大家都知道用新鲜的鸡汤治疗发烧，于是农夫拿着斧头朝院子走去，准备鸡汤的食材。不幸的是，农夫妻子的病不见好转，于是他的邻居和朋友都过来守着她。为了招待他们，农夫把猪杀了。

The farmers wife did not get well. She died， and so many people came for her funeral6 that the farmer had the cow butchered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

农夫的妻子依然没有康复，她死了，很多人过来参加她的葬礼。农夫宰了牛招待来宾。

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it is not concerned with you， remember this story about a rat trap.

所以，下次你听到某人面临一个难题，而你认为与你无关时，请记住这个老鼠夹的故事。