雙語(yǔ)·《伊索寓言》 猿和兩個(gè)旅行者

THE APES AND THE TWO TRAVELLERS

Two men were travelling together, one of whom never spoke the truth, whereas the other never told a lie: and they came in the course of their travels to the land of Apes. The King of the Apes, hearing of their arrival, ordered them to be brought before him; and by way of impressing them with his magnificence, he received them sitting on a throne, while the Apes, his subjects, were ranged in long rows on either side of him. When the Travellers came into his presence he asked them what they thought of him as a King. The lying Traveller said, “Sire, every one must see that you are a most noble and mighty monarch.” “And what do you think of my subjects?” continued the King. “They,” said the Traveller, “are in every way worthy of their royal master.” The Ape was so delighted with his answer that he gave him a very handsome present. The other Traveller thought that if his companion was rewarded so splendidly for telling a lie, he himself would certainly receive a still greater reward for telling the truth; so, when the Ape turned to him and said, “And what, sir, is your opinion?” he replied, “I think you are a very fine Ape, and all your subjects are fine Apes too.” The King of the Apes was so enraged at his reply that he ordered him to be taken away and clawed to death.

猿和兩個(gè)旅行者

有兩個(gè)旅行者一起出門旅行，其中一個(gè)從沒(méi)說(shuō)過(guò)真話，而另一個(gè)卻從來(lái)都不撒謊。他們?cè)诼眯型局?，?lái)到了猿猴的國(guó)度。猿王聽(tīng)說(shuō)了這兩個(gè)人，就命令手下帶他們過(guò)來(lái)。為了給旅行者們留下深刻印象，他坐在王座之上接待了他們。而他手下的眾多猿猴，排成長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的隊(duì)伍，分列于兩側(cè)。旅行者被帶到他面前，他問(wèn)他們，他這個(gè)國(guó)王如何。說(shuō)謊話的旅行者回答：“陛下，每個(gè)人都會(huì)認(rèn)為你是最高貴、最強(qiáng)大的君主?！薄澳俏业某济袢绾危俊痹惩趵^續(xù)問(wèn)道。旅行者回答：“他們與他們高貴的主人十分相配?！甭?tīng)了他的回答，猿王十分開(kāi)心，熱情款待了他。另一個(gè)旅行者想，既然他的同伴因?yàn)檎f(shuō)了假話而受到如此款待，那他講真話的話，肯定會(huì)得到更豐厚的獎(jiǎng)賞。于是，當(dāng)猿王問(wèn)他：“先生，你覺(jué)得如何呢？”他回答說(shuō)：“我覺(jué)得你是一只很好的猿猴，你的臣民也都是很好的猿猴?！痹惩趼?tīng)了暴怒，命令手下將他帶到一邊撕碎處死。