中國寓言故事雙語版 第133期:何必當初
In a village in the mountain in front, there was a man named Wang Laowu notorious for his laziness.
前山村裏有個王老五,懶得出奇,Everyone called him “Lazy Laowu”, but he never admitted he was lazy. Whenever someonecalled him “Lazy Laowu”, he would glare and say:
大家都叫他“懶老五”。可是王老五從來不承認自己懶,一聽有人叫他“懶老五”,他就瞪眼,説:“Who is lazy? It is just that I don't want to make my efforts in vain.”
“誰懶了?我只是不願意幹那種白費勁的活兒罷了。”
One day he went out. Before he had taken several steps, he stumbled and fell down.
有一天,他出門剛走了兩步就跌了一跤。He got up and walked for a few more steps, then fell down again.
他爬起來走了兒步,又跌了一跤。This time he lay on the ground and would not get up. He said to himself:
這一回,他索性趴在地上不起來了。他自言自語地説:“If I knew this earlier, why did I get up in the first place?”
“早知如此,剛才何必爬起來呢!”