An Indian Farmer  And  A Lion

獅子和農夫

　　An Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to the child, "Wow! It's getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and run. Let's run quickly!"

　　有一個印度的農夫跟他的小孩子出去耕田，當耕完了以後，天快要黑了，他就跟小孩說：「哇！天快黑了！不行、不行了！快收東西，快點走，我們趕快走吧！」

　　"Relax. We're not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such a panic?" asked the child. "There's something you don't know. I'm generally fearless. I'm not afraid of tigers or lions. I'm only afraid of the night. When the night comes, I'm completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I'm really frightened of it. I can't stand it," answered the farmer.

　　小孩說：「哎呀！你別緊張嘛！回家的路不遠，而且我們也知道路，你干什麼這麼緊張呢？」農夫說：「不行啊！你不知道啊！我什麼都不怕，我不怕老虎、不怕獅子，我最怕那個「晚上」！只要「晚上」一來，我就軟趴趴。那個「晚上」最恐怖了，我好怕、好怕，我受不了！」

　　It so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation. "What's this thing called 'the night'? How could it be more fearful than I am? I must find out about it," the lion mused as it moved closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this "night" that was even more frightening than itself.

　　剛好有一只獅子躲在旁邊聽到了，它就想：「這個「晚上」是什麼東西？它怎麼可能比我還恐怖呢？我倒要試試看！」它就靠近農夫，想查看「晚上」是什么種類的東西，竟然比獅子還要恐怖。

　　Then darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn't see nearby objects clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times, saying, "I've been looking for you all day. Where have you been? How dare you come back so late?"

　　那個時候天已經黑了，那個農夫有老花眼，看不清楚，只看到一個動物跑過來靠近他，認為是他那頭剛剛走掉的驢子，就打它幾下，說：「找你整天找不到，去哪里了？現在才回來！」

　　"This is the end of me," the lion thought with regret. "How could I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called 'the night' that beat me just now? It's really horrifying. What should I do now?" As these thoughts flashed through the lion's mind, the farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him. The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house.

　　這只獅子心想：「完了！我怎麼那么笨，跑來靠近「這個」，剛剛打我就是叫「晚上」的東西吧！好恐怖啊！現在怎么辦呢？」它在想的時候，農夫又打了它好幾下，催它趕快回家去，這只獅子怕死了，就跟著農夫走回去。

　　It was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of "the night" when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was "the night."

　　回家時天更黑了，因為農夫認為是他的驢子，就把獅子綁在屋外的角落邊，然后進去睡覺。那只獅子在那邊又餓又冷整個晚上，又害怕，不曉得明天早上那個「晚上」會再對待它怎么樣？它認為農夫就是所謂的「晚上」。

　　Early the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his "donkey" to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer. It then approached the captive lion and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you walking behind this man?"

　　隔天一大早，天還不怎么亮的時候，農夫已經起來了，出門帶那頭「驢子」要去耕田。走到半路時，剛好有另外一只獅子經過，它看到這只獅子乖乖地跟著農夫走在後面，就感覺到好笑，它靠近這只獅子，問：「你做什么啦？為什么跟著那個人的后面走呢？」

　　"Shh! Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don't you know that this being walking in front is something called 'the night.' He's very terrible. Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving the entire night. I have no idea where he's taking me now. Run along or your life will be in danger!"

　　被綁的獅子說：「噓！你不要那麼吵，趕快離開！你不知道前面走的那個，就是叫「晚上」的東西，他很恐怖啊，昨天我被他打，然后被綁了整個晚上又餓又冷，現在不曉得要帶我到哪里去。你趕快跑，不然的話你生命難保啊！」

　　After hearing this story, the other lion said, "You're incredible. You idiot! You're a lion, the king of animals! You've been deceived! Just roar at him now and you'll know who is more terrifying." The lion accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look. Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow! He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again.

　　另外那只獅子聽說這樣，就說：「你真好笑，你笨蛋！你是獅子、是動物之王啊！你被騙了！你現在吼他一聲，就知道誰才恐怖。」果然，這只獅子聽它的話大吼一聲以後，那個農夫就靠過來看，現在天亮了，一看是只獅子，哇！跑得要命。然后這只獅子就自由了。

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