雙語故事:愚人買鞋
【英文原文】
A Foolish Man Buys Shoes
There awas once a foolish man. One day he wanted to go to the market to buy a pair of new shoes. He first measured his foot with a ruler and then took a piece of straw and marked the length of his foot on it. But he was in such a hurry to set off that he left the straw at home.
At the market, having found a shoe-stall, he felt in his pockets, only to find that the straw was not there. So he said to the shoemaker, "I've left the measurement at home, so I don't know the size. I'll have to go back for it." with these words, he hurried off.
He hurried home for the straw and then hurried back to the market again. The trip home and back took him a lot of time. By the time he reached the market, it was almost dark and the market was already over. he had gone to all this trouble for nothing and still had not managed to buy the shoes.
Then someone asked him, "Did you want to buy the shoes for yourself or for someone else?"
He answered, "For myself, of course!"
The man then asked him, "Well, but haven't you brought your feet with you?" What do you need to bring the measurement for?"
【中文譯文】
從前有個愚人，有一天想上市去買雙新鞋。他便先用尺把腳量了，又用一根稻草比下尺碼。可是因爲急於趕路，把稻草忘在家裏了。
他來到市上，找到了賣鞋子的攤子，摸了摸口袋，不見了記尺碼的稻草。就對賣鞋的說：“尺碼忘在家裏了，不曉得大小，讓我回家拿尺碼去！”說罷，拔腿就跑。
他急急忙忙回家拿了拿跟稻草，又急急忙忙趕回市上來，一來一去，花了很多時間。等他趕回市上，天已晚了，集市已經散了。他白白忙了一陣，還是沒有買到鞋子。這時，有人問他：“你是給自己買鞋子，還是替別人代買？”
愚人回答說：“我爲自己買的呀！”
那人又問他：“那麼，腳不是長在你身上嗎？又何必要尺碼呢？”
