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好日子（双语） 邓笛/编译 从前，有一个裁缝，十分贫困，与妻子及三个儿子住在一间很小的房子里。儿子们嬉戏玩耍时会弄翻缝纫台，弄乱布料，或者被针和剪刀弄伤手指，让他无法安心工作。有时，妻子也会冲他发火，因为房子太小了，他工作时影响了妻子做家务活儿。总之，生活不易，裁缝觉得苦不堪言。 一天， 他向一位智者请教，希望得到指点，过上好日子。 智者听了他的倾诉，微微一笑，问：“你家养了公鸡了吗？” “没有。”裁缝答道。 “那么，借一只，让它与你们共住一个房间，一周后，你再来找我。”智者说。 一周后，裁缝找到了智者，抱怨说：“那只公鸡天不亮就叫，害得我们一家人睡不好觉。它还到处拉屎，让我更无法安心工作了。” 智者听后，说：“那么，你家养了猫吗？” “没有。”裁缝答道。 “那么，借一只，让它与你们共住一个房间，一周后，你再来找我。”智者说。 一周后，裁缝愁眉苦脸地找到了智者。“猫和公鸡见了面就打架，”他说，“那只该死的猫还抓伤了我的妻子。” 智者又建议裁缝借一只狗，然后一周后再来。 一周后，裁缝见到智者时，眼睛里充满了血丝。“我终于明白什么叫'鸡犬不宁’了，”他简直就要哭出声来，“我们家从早到晚没有宁静的时刻，不是鸡飞狗跳，就是猫叫人闹。” 智者闻言一笑，说：“那么，你能借倒一头驴吗？” 裁缝这回想说不，但是他的邻居家确实养了一头驴，而他又是一个诚实的人。“我可以借到一头驴，可是，你不会是让我们与驴共居一室吧？” 然而，这正是智者的意思。他要裁缝一周后再来。一周后是什么情况呢？裁缝的腰被驴踢坏，胳膊被狗咬伤，脸被猫抓破，七天中裁缝没有做出一件衣服，因为驴子占据了他工作的空间。智者听完裁缝的诉苦，缓缓言道：“现在，把驴子还给你的邻居吧，一周后再来找我。” 一周后，裁缝见到智者时，脸上的愁云不见了。 “日子过得如何？”智者问。 “好一些了。”裁缝答道，“虽然猫和狗还打架，但是至少再不会有驴子踢我了，我还有地方干我的活儿。” “把狗也还了吧。”智者说，“一周后再来找我。” 一周后，裁缝见到智者时，脸上有了一丝笑意。“尽管猫和鸡仍然打架，”他说，“但是至少我不再会被狗咬了。”智者让他回去后把公鸡和猫都还了，然后一周后再来。 一周后，裁缝见到智者时，神采熠熠，俨然换了一个人。“日子过得如何呀？”智者询问道。 “太好了！”裁缝眉飞色舞地说，“三个孩子既健康又活沷，妻子既能料理家务又是一个好母亲，我在家里既可以工作也可以享受天伦之乐，还有比这更好的日子吗？” 智者听后，以手捻髭，意味深长地说：“珍惜拥有，把幸福寄托给现在，用感恩的心态面对生活，这样人人都能过上好日子，而且会越过越好。” 附原文： A Better Life Once upon a time there lived a poor tailor who lived and worked in one little room with his wife and his three children. It was very hard for him to get on with his work: the playing children bumped into his table, crumpled his materials, and pricked their fingers with his needles and pins. Sometimes, his wife shouted at him because the room was so little that he was in her way when she wanted to do housework. Life was indeed hard, and he felt more and more miserable. So one day he decided to go and consult a great and wise Rabbi in order to get advice. The Rabbi listened carefully, and then, smiling, he asked, “Do you have a rooster?” “No,” answered the tailor. “Then borrow a rooster and take it to live with you; then come and see me in a week,” advised the learned Rabbi. A week later, the tailor returned to the Rabbi and complained. “The rooster crows at dawn and wakes us up too early; and his droppings fall all over the room. It is even more difficult to work.” Rabbi listened, and then he said, “Do youhave a cat?” “No,” answered the tailor. “Then borrow a cat and keep it in your room; then come back in a week,” advised the learned Rabbi. When the tailor returned a week later he looked even more discouraged. “The cat and the rooster keep fighting,” he complained,“and the damned cat scratched my wife.” But the Rabbi only told the tailor to borrow a dog and to come back again the following week. At the end of the week, when the tailor came again, the Rabbi could see the dark circles under his eyes. “Now I know why people say 'fighting like cats and dogs’.” he cried. “We haven’t had a moment’s peace. The cat and dog chase each other around the room all day and night; the dog barks while the rooster crows, and the cat meows, and the children cry and fight. ” The Rabbi smiled, “Can you borrow a donkey?” The tailor would have like to say that he could not; but his neighbour had a donkey, and he was a truthful man. “I can borrow a donkey, but please don’t make me take it into my room.” This was what the Rabbi wanted him to do. The Rabbi told him to come back the following week. The tailor was a sad sight indeed when he came back a week later. The donkey had kicked him in the thigh; the dog had bitten his arm; the cat had scratched his face. The donkey filled the whole room so that there was no place where he could work. The Rabbi listened carefully to this tale of woe, and then said, “Now, return the donkey and come to see me in a week.” A week later the tailor came back looking much more cheerful. “How are things,” asked the Rabbi. “Could be worse,” answered the tailor. “The cat and the dog still fight, but at least now there is room to stand, and the donkey is no longer there to kick me.” “Return the dog,” said the Rabbi, “and come to see me in a week.” The tailor was looking well rested when he came a week later. “It is true that the cat and rooster still fight,” said he,“but at least the dog is no longer there to bite me.” The Rabbi told him to return the rooster and the cat and to come back after a week. The tailor rushed to the Rabbi a week later. He was in excellent fettle, looking like a new man. “How are things,”asked the Rabbi. “Things are wonderful!” the tailor was enraptured. “I have three fine healthy children, an excellent wife who is a good cook and mother, and a very pleasant room in which to live and work. What more can a man ask from life?” The Rabbi listened to the tailor, stroking his beard, and gave a pregnant smile. “Treasure what you have, and repose your happiness in the present. Never forget to be indebted to face life. If you do so, you will have a better and better times ahead.”
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