THE CAT AND THE COCK

A Cat pounced on a Cock, and cast about for some good excuse for making a meal off him, for Cats don't as a rule eat Cocks, and she knew she ought not to. At last she said, “You make a great nuisance of yourself at night by crowing and keeping people awake: so I am going to make an end of you.” But the Cock defended himself by saying that he crowed in order that men might wake up and set about the day's work in good time, and that they really couldn't very well do without him. “That may be,” said the Cat, “but whether they can or not, I'm not going without my dinner.” And she killed and ate him.

The want of a good excuse never kept a villain from crime.

猫和公鸡

有一只猫扑向一只公鸡，将其捉住，然后想找个好借口把鸡吃掉，因为猫惯常是不吃公鸡的，她知道自己不应该吃鸡。最后，她说：“你很讨厌，每天晚上打鸣，把人们吵醒，所以我要结果了你。”但是公鸡为自己辩护说他打鸣是为了把人们叫醒，让人们能及时准备工作，没有他，人们真的不会过得很好。“也许吧，”猫说，“管他们能不能呢，我的晚饭反正不能缺了你。”

训诫：没有好借口，也不能阻止恶人作恶。