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LESSON 11 Fables
第十一課 寓言
I．THE MONKEY AND THE CATS
I．猴子和貓
Two hungry cats, having stolen some cheese, could not agree between themselves how to divide their booty.
兩只饑餓的貓偷了一些奶酪，它們之間就如何分配戰利品無法達成統一意見。
They therefore went to law, and a cunning monkey was to decide their cause.
因此，他們去尋求法律幫助，一只狡猾的猴子決定處理他們的爭端。
"Let us see," said the judge with as arch a look as could be: "ay, ay, this slice truly outweighs the other;"
法官盡量弓著身子好好看了看，說道：“讓我們看看，嗯嗯，這一片真得比那片分量要重。”
and so saying he bit off a large piece, in order, as he told them, to make the shares equal.
它這么說著時，咬下一大塊，并告訴貓們這樣就可以使每份一樣重了。
The other scale had now become too heavy, which gave this upright judge a pretence to help himself to a mouthful from the second slice.
現在天平的另一端變得太重了，正好給這位正直的法官一個借口，讓它咬了第二片奶酪一大口。
"Hold! hold!" cried the two cats; "give each of us our share of what is left, and we shall be content."
“等等！等等！”兩只貓叫道，“把我們每人剩下的份額給我們吧，我們就滿意了。”
"If you are content," said the monkey, "justice is not: the law, my friends, must take its course."
“如果你們滿意了，”猴子說道，“司法公正就不滿意了：我的朋友們，法律必須按正常程序進行。”
Upon this, he nibbled first one piece and then the other, till the poor cats saw that their cheese was in a fair way to be all eaten up.
依據與此，猴子左啃一口，右啃一口，直到可憐的貓們眼睜睜看到它們的戰利品奶酪大有可能被猴子全部吃完。
They therefore most humbly begged him not to put himself to any further trouble, but to give them what was still left.
因此，貓們低三下四地懇求，不想再給法官添更多麻煩，只要把剩余的奶酪給它們就行了。
"Ha! ha! ha! not so fast, good ladies," said the monkey;
“哈哈哈！好姑娘們，別急啊，”猴子說道，
"we owe justice to ourselves as well as to you; and what remains is due to me as the lawyer."
“我們虧欠自己公正，也虧欠你們。我作為律師，剩余的奶酪應該歸我所有。
So he crammed the whole into his mouth at once, and very gravely broke up the court!
于是，猴子立刻把整個奶酪塞進嘴里，非常莊重地結束了整個法庭審理程序！
This fable teaches us that it is better to put up with a trifling loss, than to run the risk of losing all we have by going to law.
這則寓言故事告訴我們，與其冒著失去所有的風險去尋找法律幫助，還不如忍受一些微不足道的損失。
