THE BUTCHER'S FACE

　　屠夫的臉

　　Qian Meixi recorded the story of Xue Qingguan， the goat butcher. He ran his own little store selling mutton and mutton soup. The fame of his delicious mutton soup spread far and wide， bringing lots of customers. Some people even traveled for days to taste his soup， and they all went home satisfied.

　　錢梅溪曾經記錄過一個關于殺羊的屠夫薛慶觀的故事。薛慶觀開了一家賣羊肉和羊肉湯的小店。他賣的羊肉湯鮮美可口，遠近皆知，許多客人都慕名而來。有的人甚至為了喝他的湯不惜長途跋涉，不過他們都能滿意而歸。

　　With business like that， Xue became rich in a short time.

　　因為生意興隆，薛慶觀很快就發了財。

　　Some of his friends were Buddhists， and told him not to kill any more goats."You've earned enough money. Don't be greedy. We're not beasts in the jungle， you know. Killing animals is a terrible crime against the universe. You just can't get away with it. Sooner or later your bad deeds will catch up with you， and then no matter how much money you have， it won't do you any good.

　　他有些信佛的朋友，他們告誡薛慶觀不要再殺羊了。"你已經賺得夠多了。別太貪心了。你也知道，咱們又不是山林中的野獸，這種殺生的事情可是違背天理的罪過啊。你是逃不掉上天的懲罰的。早晚有一天你會遭報應，那個時候不管你有多少錢也救不了你。"

　　"Look， Xue， why don't you just use your money to invest in some other kind of business？ You can still make lots of money， and at the same time， you can repent and do good deeds to make up for all your crimes. Otherwise， you'll be in big trouble， and even your children and grandchildren will catch it."

　　"老薛啊，你干嘛不做點別的買賣呢？一樣可以賺錢，而且你還可以做些善事來彌補你以前的罪過。不然的話，你會有大麻煩的，你的子孫都會倒霉的。"

　　Nobody likes to listen to good advice. Xue just snorted and sneered. "I'm too smart to believe in that kind of old wives' tale. Don't think you're going to spook me with these fairy tales！ Crimes against the universe！ What nonsense！"

　　沒有人愿意聽逆耳的忠言。薛慶觀對這些話嗤之以鼻。"我才不會傻到相信那種老媽子的鬼話。別以為你們能用這些神啊鬼啊的故事嚇著我！什么違背天理的罪過！都是胡說！"

　　When Xue was about forty， he got a strange disease. His mouth started to jut out， and his jaw got longer. He had a dumb look in his eyes. Actually， all in all， he looked just like a goat！

　　薛慶觀快四十歲時，突然得了一種怪病。他的嘴向前突出，下巴也變長了。他的眼神變得呆滯。實際上，他的樣子越來越像一只山羊！

　　Pretty soon all the local people knew that Xue Qingguan was looking just like a goat. They all came to see for themselves. They wouldn't say anything to him， but every day， crowds of people came to look at Xue. Then they would turn to their friends and whisper to each other and nod their heads. Xue got tired of that in a hurry！ None of the doctors could do anything for him， but they all agreed that he sure did look just like a goat.

　　很快，所有的鄉鄰都知道了薛慶觀長得像山羊。他們都來親眼觀看。雖然他們不對薛慶觀說什么，可是每天總是有成群的人來看他，人們交頭接耳，低聲議論著，還不時點著頭。薛慶觀很快就被這種事弄得身心疲憊了！沒有大夫能治得了他的病，甚至大夫也都承認他看上去的確像只山羊。

　　Xue was so frustrated that he thought he would lose his mind， but he was too stubborn to admit that he might have been wrong. He refused to admit that maybe he shouldn't kill so many goats.

　　薛慶觀沮喪極了，他覺得自己快要瘋了，可是他還是非常固執，不承認自己做過錯事。他不愿承認自己也許不應該殺那么多只山羊。

　　Finally， on a business trip to Anhui， he fell in a river and drowned. They never did find his corpse.

　　最后，在一次去安徽辦事的路上，他掉進一條河里淹死了。他的尸體也不知去向。

　　The sad thing is that Xue didn't have to suffer humiliation and a sudden death. If he had been less greedy， and more willing to consider the requirements of our conscience， he could have lived a long and happy life.

　　可悲的是薛慶觀本來無需承受人們的羞辱和突然的死亡。如果他沒那么貪心，如果他很樂于做一個有良心的人，他本可以活得很長也很開心。

　　But money， stupidity， and stubbornness were more valuable to him than happiness， good health， and wisdom.

　　但是對他來說，金錢、愚昧和固執比幸福、健康和智慧更金貴。

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