Listening To Hearsay

(Originally In Chinese)

Once a man bought a big birthday cake as

an offering to a monk. Of course, the cake

was cut into pieces and everyone ate it together.

As a result, from that day on, many people

came by, saying that they were the friends of

the friends of that person who had offered

the cake. So they said.

When that monk heard about it, he allowed the

people to eat and stay there, et ceteria. That was

what they had longed for - for food and lodging on

the pretext of the cake. It was all right, and the

monk served them. Just for this present, many

people kept coming. One day that monk couldn't bear

it anymore. The one hundred and first person came,

also saying he was the friend of a friend of the person

who presented the cake. He got a cup of water, put it

by his side, took out some flour, and said to the one

hundred and first one who came, "These are the

ingredients of the ingredients of that cake."

如 是 我聞

　有一個(gè)人他拿一個(gè)大的生日蛋糕送給一個(gè)和尚，供養(yǎng)

他，然后蛋糕被分成好幾塊，大家一起吃完了。結(jié)果從

那天以后，很多人一直來說他就是送蛋糕的那個(gè)人的

朋友的朋友的朋友，和尚聽說這樣子，當(dāng)然就會(huì)給他吃、

住，因?yàn)槟莻€(gè)人等待吃、住的東西，為了這個(gè)蛋糕的關(guān)系，

那和尚也是招待他。

　好多人都這樣一直來，一天到晚都來，大概一百零一個(gè)

來的，也講是那個(gè)蛋糕的朋友的朋友的朋友的，和尚

受不了了，他就拿一杯水放在旁邊，然后拿面粉放在那里，

他說：「這個(gè)就是蛋糕的有關(guān)的材料的材料的材料。」