THE GOAT'S TONGUE

　　羊舌頭

　　The Tang dynasty from 618 to 907 AD was one of the great eras of Chinese history. In the capital lived one Pan Guo， whose skill as a martial artist earned him a post in the government offices when he was still very young. He was easy to get along with， so he made many friends among the other young men working there.

　　唐代（公元618－907）是中國歷史上最偉大的王朝之一。在都城里住著一位潘國（名字待議），他是一位武術高手，這使他很年輕的時候就在官府里謀得一個職位。他為人隨和，結交了許多與他一起工作的年輕朋友。

　　One day， a group of them was walking along by a cemetery. Among the tombs， Pan spotted a goat that a shepherd had forgotten. The goat was minding its own business， eating the grass. Pan and his friends surrounded it and dragged it off towards home. The goat started bleating. They were afraid the shepherd would hear and come after his goat， so Pan reached in and pulled out the goat's tongue by the roots. He was proud of his quick wits.

　　一天，他們一伙人從一個墳墓邊走過。在那些墳墓中，潘看到了一只羊，肯定是被牧羊人遺忘在那的。那只羊只顧著吃草。潘和他的朋友們包圍了那只羊，并且把它向家里拖去。那只羊開始叫起來。他們害怕被牧羊人聽到跟了來，于是潘伸手把羊的舌頭連根拔掉了。他覺得他自己真是聰明極了。

　　After they got home， they slaughtered the goat and roasted it. They washed it down with a lot of wine and had a good time.

　　他們回家后，殺了那頭羊并烤熟了它。他們就著酒吃了羊肉，快樂無比。

　　In the following year， Pan was horrified to discover his tongue shrinking. As it got shorter and shorter， Pan lost his speech. He couldn't carry out his official duties， so he quit his job. He had to find some way to cure his tongue.

　　第二年，潘驚懼地發現他的舌頭在縮短。它越來越短，最后潘就說不出話來了。他不能正常工作了，只好辭職。他想方設法地想治好舌頭。

　　His boss， Zheng Yuqing， suspected Pan was just being lazy， so he ordered him to open his mouth to prove whether or not he was really sick. He was surprised to see that Pan's tongue had already disappeared. All that was left was a little stub at the root. He demanded to know what had happened. Pan took up a brush and wrote， "It must be because a bunch of us were stealing a goat last year，and when the goat started bleating， I ripped its tongue out."

　　他的上司，鄭余慶，懷疑其實是潘懶惰，所以他命令他張開嘴巴，想看看他是否真的病了。他驚恐地發現潘地舌頭已經消失了，只在舌根的地方剩下一點點殘余。他想知道這究竟是怎么回事。潘于是拿起筆，寫道："這一定是因為我們一伙人去年偷了一只羊，當那只羊開始叫喚的時候，我拔掉了它的舌頭。"

　　Zheng Yuqing knew that Pan lost his tongue to balance the tongue he took from the goat. He ordered his subordinates to carry out Buddhist services to bring the goat fortune to compensate for its loss. He told Pan to copy the Lotus Sutra.

　　鄭余慶明白了，潘失去了他的舌頭是因為他要補償他拔掉的羊的舌頭。他于是讓屬下去超度那只羊，還讓潘抄寫法華經。

　　Pan was sorry for what he had done. He swore never again to eat the flesh of an animal， and to do his best to bring the goat fortune through good deeds， dharma services， and prayers.

　　潘為他的所作所為感到內疚。他發誓不再吃肉了，而且要盡量以做好事、做佛事及持誦佛號的方式，將功德回向那只羊。

　　After a year， his tongue began to grow back.

　　一年后，他的舌頭長回來了。

　　When he found his tongue was growing back， Pan was thrilled. He ran to the office to report to Zheng. Zheng was proud of Pan for his determination to correct his mistake. When he could speak normally again， he promoted him. Zheng Yuqing was so honest and wise that people always praised him. The word of his good deeds reached the Emperor TaiZong， one of the best emperors in Chinese history， and in the 9th year of his reign， 635 AD， Zheng Yuqing was promoted to the post of Imperial Censor， one of the highest positions in the Empire.

　　當他發現他的舌頭長回來以后，潘驚得發抖。他趕緊跑到官府里去報告鄭。鄭很贊許潘改正錯誤的決心。當潘能正常說話后，鄭提拔了他。鄭余慶是那么的正直英明，人們都稱贊他。對他的贊美傳到了唐太宗的耳里，唐太宗是中國歷史上最好的皇帝之一，在他登基后的第9年（公元635年），鄭余慶被提拔當了御史，這是唐代最高的職位之一。

　　Zheng told the Emperor that perhaps he won his promotion to balance the fortune he had won for the goat that lost its tongue.

　　鄭告訴皇帝，這可能是因為他為了那只失去舌頭的羊做功德而得到的福報。

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