世界上最美麗的英文（12）

    The Cobbler and the banker

    La Fontaine/拉。封丹

    皮匠和銀行家

    A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night；it was wonderful to see，wonderful to hear him；he was

    more contented in shoes，than was any of the seven sages.His neighbor，on the contrary，who was rolling in wealth，sung

    but little and slept less.He was a banker；when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break，the cobbler awoke him with

    his song.The banker complained sadly that Providence had not made sleep a saleable commodity，like edibles or

    drinkables.Having at length sent for the songster，he said to him，"How much a year do you earn，Master Gregory？"

    "How much a year，sir？"said the merry cobbler laughing，"I have reckon in that way，living as I do from one day to

    another；somehow I manage to reach the end of the year；each day brings its meal."

    "Well then！How much a day do you earn，my friend？"

    "Sometimes more，sometimes less；but the worst of it is，-and，without that our earnings would be very tolerable，-a

    number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work；and the curate，moreover，is constantly adding some

    new saint to the list."

    The banker，laughing at his simplicity，said，"In the future I shall place you above want.Take this hundred

    crowns，preserve them carefully，and make use of them in time of need."

    The cobbler fancied he beheld all the wealth which the earth had produced in the past century for the use of

    mankind.Returning home，he buried his money and his happiness at the same time，No more singin；he lost his voice，the

    moment he acquired that which is the source of so much grief.Sleep quitted his dwelling；and cares，suspicions，and

    false alarms took its place，All day，his eye wandered in the direction of his treasure；and at night，if some stray cat

    made a noise，the cat was robbing him.At length the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor；"Give my back."

    said he，"sleep and my voice，and take your hundred crowns."

    一個(gè)皮匠從早到晚在唱歌中度過(guò)。無(wú)論見(jiàn)到他本人或聽(tīng)見(jiàn)他的歌聲都使人覺(jué)得很愉快。他對(duì)于制鞋工作比當(dāng)上了希臘七對(duì)還要滿足。

    與此相反，他的鄰居是個(gè)銀行家，擁有萬(wàn)貫家財(cái)，卻很少唱歌，晚上也睡得不好。他偶爾在黎明時(shí)分迷迷糊糊剛?cè)胨そ车母杪暠?/p>

    于工作把他吵醒了。銀行家郁郁寡歡地抱怨上帝沒(méi)有睡眠也制成一種像食品或飲料那樣可以買(mǎi)賣的商品。后來(lái)，銀行家就叫人把這位

    歌手請(qǐng)來(lái)，問(wèn)道：“格列戈里師傅，你一年賺多少錢(qián)？”

    “先生，你問(wèn)我一年賺多少錢(qián)嗎？”快樂(lè)的皮匠笑道：“我從來(lái)不算這筆帳，我是一天一天地過(guò)日子，總而言之堅(jiān)持到年底，每天掙足

    三餐。“

    “啊，朋友，那么你一天賺多少錢(qián)呢？”

    “有時(shí)多一點(diǎn)，有時(shí)少一點(diǎn)；不過(guò)最糟糕的是一年中總有些日子不準(zhǔn)我們做買(mǎi)賣，牧師又常常在圣徒名單上添新名字，否則我們的收

    入也還算不錯(cuò)的。“

    銀行家被皮匠的直率逗笑了，他說(shuō)：“我要你從今以后不愁沒(méi)錢(qián)用。這一百枚錢(qián)你拿去，小心放好，需要時(shí)拿來(lái)用吧。”

    皮匠覺(jué)自己好像看到了過(guò)去幾百年來(lái)大地為人類所需而制造出來(lái)的全部財(cái)富。他回到家中，埋藏好硬幣，同時(shí)也埋葬了他的快樂(lè)。他

    不再唱歌了；從他得到這種痛苦的根源那一刻起，他的嗓子就啞了。睡眠與他分手；取而代之的卻是擔(dān)心、懷疑、虛驚。白天，他的

    目光盡朝埋藏硬幣的方向望；夜間，如果有只迷途的貓弄出一點(diǎn)聲響，他就以為是有人來(lái)?yè)屗腻X(qián)。最后，這個(gè)可憐的皮匠跑到他那

    富有的鄰居家里說(shuō)：“把你的一百枚錢(qián)拿回去，還我的睡眠和歌聲來(lái)。”

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