There lived a rich man named Guo in the State of Qi and a poor man named Xiang in the State of Song.

    齊國有個姓“國”的富人，宋國有個姓“向”的窮人。

    The poor man came to the State of Qi to visit the rich man, and asked him about the way to get rich.

    窮人到齊國去拜訪那位富人，向他請教致富的方法。

    The rich man in the State of Qi told him:

    齊國富人告訴他:

    "I was also very poor before, but now I am quite well-off. The only reason is that I can steal and rob. But it is very painstaking. By stealing and robbing, I could make a living in the first year, and in the second year I had more than enough to eat and wear. In the third year, my family's storehouse was truly filled with grain and millet."

    “我原來也很貧窮，可是現(xiàn)在日子過得很好。原因只是我會偷、會搶罷了。不過太辛苦了。我偷呀搶呀，第一年生活就夠維持了，第二年就已經(jīng)吃不完穿不完了，第三年我家里真是糧滿囤、谷滿倉。”

    The man of Song only heard him talk profusely about stealing and robbing, but did not find out clearly how to steal and rob. The minute he returned home, he got dizzy with imagined success and started to steal and rob.

    宋國人只聽見他滿口的偷呀搶呀，卻沒有問清楚究竟怎么個偷法、怎么個搶法。他一回到家就得意忘形地動手去偷、去搶。

    As soon as it was dark, he climbed over the wall of the family on the east, and dug a hole in the wall of the family on the west. He stole whatever he saw. After some time, his family actually began getting rich. But just when he was immensely proud of himself, the bailiffs from the yamen (government office) came and arrested him. He was declared guilty and put in prison. All the things he had stolen and robbed, together with his own old and worn-out stuff, were confiscated.

    天一黑，他就翻東家的墻，挖西家的洞。看到什么偷什么。時間一長，家里居然也富起來了。可是，正當他洋洋自得的時候，衙門差人到他家里，將他捉拿歸案，判了罪，坐了牢。他偷來搶來的一切，連同他原有的破舊東西，全部被沒收了。

    As soon as the thief was released upon completion of his prison term, he went to Guo's home in the State of Qi to blame him. The rich man asked him in haste:

    這個小偷刑滿之后從監(jiān)牢里一出來就跑到齊國姓“國”的家里責怪他。富人連忙問他:

    "How are you doing?"

    “你干得怎么樣了?”

    The thief told him what had happened and sighed:

    小偷將經(jīng)過訴說了一遍，唉聲嘆氣地說:

    "I am now even poorer than before."

    “我比以前更窮了。”

    The rich man was astonished at first, then said regretfully:

    富人先是大吃一驚，接著惋惜地說:

    "How can you be in reduced circumstances? Alas, you completely misunderstood what I meant by stealing and robbing."

    “你怎么會弄到這個地步呢?哎呀!你把我說的偷、搶的意思完全誤會了。”

      He continued:

    又說:

    "By stealing and robbing, I meant seeking for the resources of the earth, and racing against the seasons of the heavens. Dense forests, broad land, sunshine, rain and dew, wind and cloud, all these are my targets for robbing. I approach them, make friends with them, and rely on them to plant crops and build houses. Birds in the sky, beasts on land, fish and shrimp in the river…all these don't belong to me by nature. But I, fearing neither hardship nor toil, use my brains and think up ways to steal them and rob them. This is stealing and robbing in an open and aboveboard way. It is by no means committing a crime. As to the clothing, food and articles of individuals, they are obtained through people's own labour, and can only belong to these people. I have never encouraged you to steal and rob other people's private property. But you have actually done so, which does break the law. Who is to blame for your being found guilty and put in prison?"
 

    “我說的偷、搶是向土地要資源，與老天搶時間。茂密的山林、廣闊的土地、陽光、雨露、風云等都是我搶奪的對象。我接近它們，同它們交朋友，依靠它們，種莊稼、建房屋。空中的飛禽，陸上的走獸，河里的魚蝦··…這些東西原來都不屬于我，但是我動腦筋，想辦法，不怕苦，不怕累，把它們偷了過來，搶了過來，這是光明正大的偷、搶，并不是犯罪呀!至于那些屬于私人的衣物、食品都是人們用自己的勞動取得的，只能屬于他們自己。我從來沒有叫你去偷、去搶人家的東西呀!可是你竟然去偷、去搶別人家的東西，這是犯法的行為。你被判罪坐牢，這到底應該怪誰呢?”（編者注：如果喜歡本文章可以點擊文章右上方的關注或者右下角的贊哦！感謝各位讀者。）
 

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