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There was once a boatman who earned his living by transporting passengers from one side of the riverbank to the other.
很久以前，有個擺渡的人，他用船把人們從岸的這邊送到對岸，以此賺錢為生。
One particular day, while he was resting, a businessman came and asked impolitely,“Transport me to the opposite side of the river.”
有一天，他正在休息時，一個商人過來很不客氣地說：“把我送到對岸去！”
“Yes, please come aboard,”answered the boatman.
“知道了，請上船吧。”艄公說。
“How much do you charge for the trip？”asked the businessman.
“擺渡費是多少？”商人說。
“Eight coins each way,”answered the boatman.
“單程八文錢。”艄公答道。
“Eight coins！”exclaimed the businessman.“That is too expensive！ I will pay you six coins.”
“八文，”商人嚷道，“太貴了，六文吧！”
The boatman then began the journey without saying a word. He rowed and rowed towards the opposite bank. When he was about to reach the other side, he stopped and said,“You may get down here.”
艄公沒有跟他爭論，便搖著櫓，慢慢地向對岸劃去。當來到離對岸不遠時，艄公停住船說：“請下船吧。”
The businessman was shocked,“You expect me to get off here, right into the river？”
商人驚訝地說：“在這兒下船？想讓我掉河里嗎？”
The boatman replied politely,“Six coins will only take you here, and eight coins will take you to the riverbank.”
艄公禮貌地說：“六文錢就只能送到這兒了，八文錢可以送到對岸。”
The businessman then said,“Well then, take me back to where we came from.”He thought the boatman would think it troublesome to send him back and would just send him to the other side.
商人說：“好吧，你把我送回剛才來的岸邊吧。”商人心想他這么一說，艄公會覺得再返回剛才那岸邊太麻煩了，便會把他送到對岸。
The boatman just replied,“Sure！”He then began to row back to where they began their journey. When they arrived, the boatman said,“Altogether twelve coins, six coins each way.”
艄公卻說：“好的。”然后他把船劃回原來的岸邊。這時，艄公說：“去六文，回六文，一共十二文。”
The businessman then realised that the boatman was really serious about it. Then he said,“I am sorry, I will pay you the full fare. Please send me over to the other side now.”
商人意識到艄公是認真的，便說：“是我不好，我會付所有的擺渡費的，現在請把我送到對岸去吧！”
The boatman began to row towards the opposite riverbank.
于是，艄公又送他到對岸去。
So how much did the businessman have to pay finally？ Well, twelve coins plus eight coins, a total of twenty coins！
那么，商人一共要付多少擺渡費呢？十二文加八文，一共二十文錢。
