贪婪的旅行者

Once， there was an old tiger that could no longer hunt. One morning， he stood by a lake and held a gold bracelet2 in one paw3. He was shouting， “Ladies and Gentlemen！A gold bracelet for my kindness.”

曾经一只老虎，它老了，不能抓捕猎物了。一天早上，它站在湖边，一个爪子拿着一只金手镯，喊道：“女士们，先生们，为表善意，我献出一只金手镯。”

A traveler， passing by， liked the gold bracelet. However， he was scared of the tiger.

一个旅行者刚好经过，他很喜欢这个金手镯，但是他怕老虎。

The traveler said， “How can I believe that you would not✔ harm me？”

旅行者说：“我怎么能相信你不会伤害我呢？”

The tiger replied۵， “I admit that when I was young， I was wicked4 and killed many cows and human beings. Then a holy man advised me to give alms5. So， now I take a bath and give things fo∞r the sake of kindness. Besides， I’ve gone old. My teeth and claws have fallen off. So， what do you fear？”

老虎回答道：“我承认，我年轻的时候，我是作恶多端，吃了很多牛和人。后来一个圣人建议我多行布施。所以现在我洗了个澡，为表善心，我把这些东西给别人。而且，我老了，我的牙齿和爪子掉了，你有什么好怕的呢？”

The traveler believed him and went into the lake， but got struck in the deep mud.

旅行者相信了老虎，向湖走去，但是他深陷泥浆，不得✿动弹。

When the tiger saw this， he comforted him. “Oh！Don’t worry❥. I’ll help you，” he said， and slowly waded6 towards the traveler and grabbed7 him.

老虎看到了，宽慰旅行者说：“啊！不要担心，我来帮助你吧。”他说着，慢慢地朝旅行者趟水走过去，抓住了他。

Soon after that， the tiger killed the traveler and ate him up.

很快，老虎咬死了旅行者，并把他吞下了肚。

Moral： You must not risk your life for the sake of greed.

寓意：不能因为贪婪而去冒生命的危险。