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One day, a king was travelling in his own land. He saw a farmer so absorbed in his work that he did not even notice a snake coiling round his leg.
一天，國王在他的國家巡游，看見一個農夫正專心地鋤地，以至連一條蛇纏住他的腿都沒有發覺。
The king shouted,“Dear man, there is a snake on your leg！”
國王大聲驚叫起來：“漢子，你的腿被一條蛇纏住了呀！”
The farmer just shook the snake off and continued his work.
農夫抖了抖腿把蛇甩開，然后繼續鋤地。
The king was very curious and asked,“Dear man, don't you know that the snake can harm you？ You ignored it and kept working. Is the work more important than your life？”
國王感到很奇怪，問：“漢子，你不知道那蛇會咬傷你嗎？你卻滿不在乎地干活，難道干活比你的命還重要嗎？”
The farmer said,“Your Majesty, the only thing that is threatening me is not the snake but the food. If I don't work hard, when the next spring comes, my family members will starve to death！”
農夫說：“陛下，真正威脅我生命的不是蛇，而是食物。如果我不拼命耕作，明年春天一到，我一家老小就全餓死了！”
The king sympathized with the farmer and he instructed his prime minister to give the farmer a big sum of money.
國王聽了，很同情這個農夫的處境，他命令首相給了農夫一大筆救濟金。
A year later, the king met the farmer again. He was well dressed and looked rather plump. He was not farming now but there was a bandage on his right arm.
一年后，國王又遇見了那個農夫。他衣著華麗，腦滿腸肥，甚為富裕。他沒有鋤地，右臂纏著繃帶。
The king asked him,“Dear man, what happened to your arm？”
國王上前問他：“漢子，你的胳膊怎么啦？”
“Your Majesty,”the farmer replied,“my finger was pricked by a thorn on the pumpkin. Now I need a rest to take care of my arm.”
“陛下！”農夫答道，“我的手指被南瓜刺扎了一下。現在我需要休息來養養胳膊。”
The king was astonished.“When you were such a poor man, you were not afraid of a snake bite. You only kept working hard. But now you need a rest after being pricked by a little thorn on the pumpkin！”
國王驚嘆道：“啊！想當年你窮的時候，蛇都不怕，拼命地干活。現在讓南瓜刺扎了一下就想歇息了！”
The farmer said,“Your Majesty, you have forgotten what people usually say: that was before, now it is different！”
農夫說：“尊敬的國王，您忘了人們常說：此一時，彼一時嘛！”
