皮匠和銀行家

A cobbler and a banker

A cobbler passed his time in singing from morning till night; it was wonderful to see, wonderful to hear him; he was more contented in shoes, than was any of the seven sages.

His neighbor, on the contrary, who was rolling in wealth, sang little and slept less. He was a banker; when by chance he fell into a doze at day-break, the cobbler awoke him with his song. The banker complained sadly that Providence had not made sleep a saleable commodity, like food or drinks.

Having at length sent for the cobbler, he said to him, “How much a year do you earn, Master Gregory?”

“How much a year, sir?” said the merry cobbler laughing, “I have never reckoned in that way. I live as I do from one day to another; somehow I manage to reach the end of the year; each day brings its meal.”

“Well then! How much do you earn a day, my friend?”

“Sometimes more, sometimes less; but the worst of it is—and without that our earnings would be very tolerable—a number of days occur in the year on which we are forbidden to work; and the curate, moreover, is constantly adding some new saint to the list.”

The banker, laughing at his simplicity, said, “In the future I shall give you what you want. Take this hundred crowns, keep them carefully, and make use of them in time of need.”

The cobbler fancied he saw all the wealth that the earth had produced in the past century for the use of mankind. Returning home, he buried his money and his happiness at the same time.

No more singing; he lost his voice, the moment he acquired that which is the source of so much grief. Sleep quitted his dwelling; and cares, suspicions, and false alarms took its place. All day, his eye wandered in the direction of his treasure; and at night, if some stray cat made a noise, he thought someone was robbing him.

At length the poor man ran to the house of his rich neighbor and said. “Give back my sleep and my voice, and take your hundred crowns.”

 【日積月累】

sage n. 賢人，圣人，年高望重的人

cobbler n. 皮匠，補鞋匠，工匠

Providence n. 天意，天命，上帝

tolerable adj. 可容忍的，可以的

curate n.[C]助理牧師

dwelling n. 住處

【參考譯文】

皮匠和銀行家

一個皮匠從早到晚在唱歌中度過。無論見到他本人或聽見他的歌聲都使人覺得很愉快。他對于做鞋比當上了七圣人還要滿足。

與此相反，他的鄰居是個擁有萬貫家財，很少唱歌，睡眠也少的銀行家。他偶爾在黎明時分剛入睡，皮匠的歌聲就把他吵醒了。銀行家難過地抱怨上帝沒有把睡眠制成像食品或飲料那樣可以買賣的商品。

后來，銀行家請來這位歌手，問道：“格列戈里師傅，你一年賺多少錢？”

“先生，你問我一年賺多少錢嗎？”快樂的皮匠笑道：“我從來不算這筆帳，我是一天一天地過日子，總而言之能堅持到年底，每天都有飯吃。”

“啊，朋友，那么你一天賺多少錢呢？”

“有時多一點，有時少一點；不過最糟糕的是一年中總有些日子不準我們做干活——要不是這樣，我們的收入馬馬虎虎也還是可以的，牧師又常常在圣徒名單上添新名字，否則我們的收入也還算不錯的。”

銀行家被皮匠的直率逗笑了，他說：“以后我會給你想要的。這一百枚錢你拿去，小心放好，留著需要時用吧。”

皮匠覺自己好像看到了過去幾百年來大地為人類所需而制造出來的全部財富。他回到家中，埋藏好硬幣，同時也埋葬了他的快樂。他不再唱歌了。

從他得到這種痛苦的根源那一刻起，他就失去了美妙的聲音。睡眠與他分手；取而代之的卻是擔心、懷疑、虛驚。白天，他的目光就徘徊在埋藏硬幣的方向；夜間，如果有只迷途的貓弄出一點聲響，他就以為是有人來搶他的錢。

最后，這個可憐的皮匠跑到他那富有的鄰居家里說：“把你的一百枚錢拿回去，還我的睡眠和歌聲來。”

【人生啟迪】

一個人之所以快樂，在很大程度上是因為他有一顆平凡的心。但是，當這顆心被物欲所蒙蔽時，它就會喪失它最純真的本性，從而快樂也就會消失，憂愁也就會隨之而來。“不以物喜，不以己悲”，“知足常樂”，這才是人生快樂的最高境界。