雙語詩歌翻譯|《神像與水溝》

出自《古代笑話選》，讓人啼笑皆非，于玩笑中講述道理。

《神像與水溝》

艾子行水，途見一廟，矮小而裝飾甚嚴(yán)。前有一小溝，有人行至水，不可涉。顧廟中，而輒取大王像橫于溝上，履之而去。復(fù)有一人至，見之，再三嘆之曰："神像直有如此褻慢！”乃自扶起，以衣拂飾，捧至坐上，再拜而去。須臾，艾子聞廟中曰："大王居此為神，享里人祭祀，反為愚民之辱，何不施禍以譴之？”王曰："然則禍當(dāng)行于后來者?！毙」碛衷唬?quot;前者以履大王，辱莫甚焉，而不行禍；后來之人敬大王者，反禍之，何也？”王曰："前人已不信矣，又安禍之！”艾子曰："真是鬼怕惡人也！”

Even the Gods Fear Bullies

In the course of a trip by boat, Master Ai noticed a temple, not very high but magnificent in its ornamentations. There was a ditch in front of it. Unable to cross the ditch, someone moved an idol off of its pedestal in the temple and laid it across the ditch, enabling him to cross over. Seeing this happening, another man heaved a deep sigh and said: "How can the image of a god be treated with such disrespect?" He picked the idol up, cleaned it off with his own robe, and then restored it to its original place. He departed only after having made obeisance before it.

Soon thereafter, Master Ai overheard an imp in the temple addressing the idol: "O, great kind, you are mighty enough to sit here and receive the offerings from people all over, yet you let yourself be humiliated by a foolish knave. Why not punish him for this affront by causing disasters to befall him?" But the idol replied: "Misfortune shall befall all those who henceforth offend me.”

"What about the man who tramped over you and subjected you to utter humiliate?" the imp asked. "Why not place a curse on him? Why should misfortune befall future worshippers and supplicant appealing before you in reverence, why? The god replied: "since the man who desecrated my image did not have faith in me, how am I to visit disaster upon him?”

Master Ai concluded: "Indeed it is true that even the gods fear bullies."