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很久很久以前，钟挂在那里，是让那些蒙冤的人敲的。听到钟声，国王便会召集专门指定的聪明人，来为冤者伸张正义。 钟已经挂了很久了，绳子也快要烂了，藤蔓都顺着爬了上去。 事有凑巧，一位骑士有匹名贵的战马，已经很老了，因此没什么价值了。骑士为了省下养马的花销，就让它四处溜达。饿扁了肚子的马用力拽着藤蔓就吃，结果它一拉，钟就响了。 于是法官们聚集在一起,弄明白了好像是这匹老马要求伸张正义。他们判决骑士现在应该喂养这匹老马，毕竟这匹马年轻时曾经为他效劳。国王命令他依照判决去做，以示严惩。 The Horse Who Rang the Bell Long long ago, a bell was hung for anyone to ring who had received a great wrong, whereupon the king would call together the wise men appointed for this purpose, in order that justice might be done. The bell had lasted a long time and the rope had wasted，so that a vine clung to it. Now it befell that a knight had a noble charger which had grown old, so that it had lost its worth, and the knight, to avoid the expense of its keep, let it wander about. The famished horse tugged at the vine to eat it. As it tugged, the bell rang. The judges assembled, and understood the petition of the horse who, it seemed, asked for justice. They sentenced that the knight whom the horse had served when it was young, should feed it now that it was old. The king commanded him to do so as grave penalties. |
