那些給我智慧和勇氣的寓言故事81:麻雀 The Sparrow
An old Japanese man kept a sparrow of which he was very fond. One day it flew away and the old man became sad.
一位上了年紀的日本人養了一隻麻雀，他非常喜歡它。一天，麻雀飛走了He went out looking all over the place for his sparrow At last, near a certain mountain, he met his sparrow.
老人很傷心，到處尋找。最後，在某一座高山附近，他遇到了麻雀。The old man said joyously, "I missed you very much, sparrow. Will you follow me home?"
老人高興地說：“麻雀啊，我很想你，跟我回家吧！”
Though the sparrow was happy to see the old man, it shook its head.
儘管麻雀見到老人很高興，但它還是搖了搖頭。
"Take me to your home and let me see how you live."The old man pleaded. "I will go away happy to see if you are safe."
“那把我帶到你的新家，讓我看看你生活得怎樣？”老人請求道，“如果你很安全，那我就可以安心地回家了。”So the sparrow led the old man to his home. There were many other birds.
於是麻雀把老人領到它的家，那兒有好多其他鳥兒，They all looked healthy and enjoyed each other's company.
看起來都很健康，彼此相處得很愉快。"I am glad you are well and have good companions, dear sparrow. I can go back in peace, " said the old man.
“親愛的麻雀，我很高興你生活得很好，有那麼多好同伴，我可以放心回去了。”老人說。When it was time for the old man to leave, the sparrow gave him a basket to take home with him as a present.
他正要離開時，麻雀給他一個籃子作爲禮物讓他帶回家。"Well," said the old man's wife angrily when he returned, "where have you been all day? And what have you here?"
“喂！”老人回家後，妻子生氣地說：“你一整天都跑到哪兒去了？你拿的是什麼？”"I have been to the home of my lost sparrow and received this basket as a present, replied he.
“我到我們失蹤的麻雀家裏去了，這籃子是麻雀送我的禮物。”他回答道。When she opened the basket sh6 was amazed to find it was full of gold and silver.
她打開籃子，驚訝地發現裏面裝滿了金子和銀子。The old woman, who was very greedy, decided that she would like a basket of gold, so she set out for the sparrow's home, Unlike the old man who was kind to the sparrow, the wife used to treat it very badly.
老婦人很貪心，覺得自己也應該有一籃子金子，於是她也到麻雀家去了。老婦人沒有老人對麻雀那麼好，她過去就一直虐待麻雀。"Hello, sparrow, how are you? I missed you very much," cried the old woman hypocritically.
“嗨，麻雀，你好嗎？我很想你！”老婦人虛僞地叫道。The sparrow said nothing and she finally decided to go home.
麻雀什麼也沒說。最後老婦人決定回去，Still the sparrow did not give her any present she had hoped for.
麻雀也沒給她想要的禮物。Before she left, she unashamedly asked for a present. "My husband got a basket of gold and silver from you, " she reminded the bird.
但她離開前厚顏無恥地開口要禮物。 “我家老頭子以你這兒得到了一籃子金子和銀子。”她提醒麻雀說。"Alright, replied the sparrow, "for your husband's sake, I offer you two choices. One basket is light and the other is heavy. Just choose one. But you can only open the basket when you reach home!"
“好吧！”麻雀答道，“看在你丈夫的面子上，我給你兩個籃子供你選擇，一個籃子輕，一個籃子重，你只能選一個，而且只能回家後才能打開。The greedy old woman cried out, I’ll take the heavy one, " as she thought its weight will contain more gold and silver. "Are you sure?" asked the sparrow.
貪心的老婦人叫道：“我要重的那一個。”因爲她想重籃子裏一定裝了更多的金子和銀子。 “你確定要重的嗎？”麻雀問道。"Yes. As sure as you see me standing before you! I'll take the heavy basket," she replied. So the old woman panted and puffed breathlessly as she carried the heavy basket all the way.
“是的，確定無疑。我要重籃子。”她答道。於是，老婦人一路上揹着重重的籃子，累得氣喘吁吁。But when she arrived home and opened the basket, it was full of stones.
但是，當她回家打開一看，裏面全是石頭。
