THE MISTRESS AND HER SERVANTS

A Widow, thrifty and industrious, had two servants, whom she kept pretty hard at work. They were not allowed to lie long abed in the mornings, but the old lady had them up and doing as soon as the cock crew. They disliked intensely having to get up at such an hour, especially in winter-time: and they thought that if it were not for the cock waking up their Mistress so horribly early, they could sleep longer. So they caught it and wrung its neck. But they weren't prepared for the consequences. For what happened was that their Mistress, not hearing the cock crow as usual, waked them up earlier than ever, and set them to work in the middle of the night.

女主人和仆人

有一个寡妇，生性节俭，勤勤恳恳，她家里有两个仆人，都被她安排了很辛苦的工作。他们早晨没有办法赖床，晨鸡一报晓，女主人就会叫他们起床开始工作。他们都很不喜欢这么早就起床，尤其是冬天的时候。于是他们想，如果能够让鸡别那么早叫醒女主人，那他们就能多睡一会儿了。所以，他们抓住鸡，扭断了它的脖子。但是他们并没有如愿以偿，女主人听不到鸡鸣，叫他们起床的时间却比过去更早了，几乎还在半夜就把他们喊起来干活了。