在古代寓言故事中,《永某氏之鼠》是一则寓意深刻的故事,它通过简单的叙述传递了深刻的道理。本文将带您一起阅读原文,并提供一个较为贴近原意的翻译,以帮助现代读者更好地理解其中蕴含的道理。
原文阅读
永某氏之鼠,居于某室。室宽敞而无猫,鼠肆意出入,食五谷,毁器物,无所不为。主人某氏,见其猖獗,欲捕杀之。然鼠众多,且狡猾异常,每每逃脱。一日,某氏购得一猫,置于室内。猫初至,鼠闻其气息,皆匿藏不见。猫伺机而动,数日间,鼠类渐少。某氏喜,以为鼠患已除。
然而,时过不久,鼠又复现,且数量较前更甚。某氏疑惑不解,问邻人曰:“吾室有猫,鼠患为何不减反增?”邻人笑答:“汝之猫,虽能捕鼠,但亦嗜食,若猫饱,则鼠安逸;若猫饥,则鼠逃窜。猫与鼠共存,岂能尽灭?”
某氏闻言,深思良久,遂将猫放归野外。自此,鼠虽未完全绝迹,却也渐趋平和,不再肆虐。
翻译
In the story of "The Rat of Yong," there was once a group of rats living in a certain room. The room was spacious and had no cat, so the rats roamed freely, eating grains and destroying utensils as they pleased. The owner of the house, named Mr. Yong, noticed the rampant behavior of the rats and decided to capture and eliminate them. However, the rats were numerous and extremely cunning, always managing to escape. One day, Mr. Yong bought a cat and placed it inside the room. When the cat first arrived, the rats sensed its presence and hid away. The cat waited for opportunities and within a few days, the rat population began to dwindle. Mr. Yong was delighted, believing that the rat problem had been solved.
However, not long after, the rats reappeared, and their numbers even increased compared to before. Mr. Yong was puzzled and asked his neighbor, "I have a cat in my house, yet why do the rats not decrease but rather increase?" His neighbor laughed and replied, "Your cat may be able to catch rats, but it also enjoys eating. If the cat is well-fed, the rats can relax; if the cat is hungry, the rats will flee. The coexistence of cats and rats makes it impossible to completely eradicate them."
After hearing this, Mr. Yong pondered deeply and released the cat back into the wild. From then on, although the rats did not disappear entirely, they gradually became less troublesome and no longer caused major havoc.
通过这个故事,我们可以领悟到自然界中的平衡法则。无论是人类还是动物,都应学会与环境和谐共处,而不是试图彻底消灭某个物种。希望这篇阅读与翻译能够帮助大家更好地理解这则寓言故事所传达的道理。