商人和他的驴子

One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market, in order to sell the salt. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached a river on the way.

一个美丽的春天的早晨，一个商人驮着他的驴子去市场卖盐。商人和他的驴子一起走着。他们没走多远就到了路上的一条河边。

Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. As it scrambled up the bank of the river, it noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back had become lighter.

不幸的是，驴子滑了一跤掉进了河里。当爬上河岸时，它发现背上的盐袋子变轻了。

There was nothing the merchant could do except return home, where he loaded his donkey with more bags of salt. As they reached the slippery riverbank again, the donkey fell into the river, this time deliberately. Thus the salt was wasted again.

商人只能回家，他在驴背上又放了几袋盐。当他们再次到达滑滑的河岸时，驴子又掉进了河里，这次是故意的。于是盐又被浪费了。

By now the merchant knew the donkey’s trick. He wanted to teach the animal a lesson. As he returned home the second time with the donkey, the merchant loaded bags of sponges on its back.

这时商人知道了驴子的把戏。他想给这只动物上一课。当他第二次带着驴子回家时，商人装了一袋袋的海绵。

The duo set out on their trip to the market a third time. On reaching the river, the donkey very cleverly fell into the water again. But now, instead of the load becoming lighter, it became heavier.

两人第三次踏上了市场之旅。驴子一到河边，就很聪明地又掉进了水里。但现在，这次不是变轻了，而是变重了。

The merchant laughed at the donkey and said, “You foolish donkey, your trick has been discovered. You should know that you cannot fool anyone too many times.”

商人嘲笑驴子说:“你这头蠢驴，你的把戏已经被识破了。你应该知道骗人是骗不久的。”