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从前有一个国王非常残暴、不公正，臣民们都希望他死掉或者把他废黜。 然而有一天，他宣布自己要改过自新，这让所有人都吃了一惊。 他向人们承诺“仁慈、公正”，他说到做到了，人们都称其为“仁慈的君主”。 他转变后几个月，一个大臣鼓足了勇气问他是什么让他改变如此之大。国王回答说："我骑马经过森林时，看到一只猎狗在追赶一只狐狸。猎狗咬了狐狸腿一口，狐狸逃回洞里，但以后狐狸的腿就会瘸了。然后我骑马到了村庄里，又看到了那条猎狗，它在冲着一个人汪汪地叫。我正在旁边看着，那人捡起一块大石头朝狗扔过去，把狗腿打断了。可是那人还没有走 多远就被马给踢了，膝盖被踢碎，倒在地上变成了残疾。马跑开了，却跌到了一个坑里，把腿跌断了。经过对上述事情的反思,我领悟到：‘罪恶只能产生罪恶。如果我继续以前的残暴行为，自己肯定也会遭报应的。’所以我决定弃恶从善。” 大臣离开了，心中盘算着推翻国王、夺取政权的时机到了。他正聚精会神地想着呢，没有留心前面的台阶，一下子跌了下去，摔断了脖子。 Cycle of Evil There was once a king who was so cruel and unjust that his subjects yearned for his death or dethronement. However, one day he surprised them all by announcing that he had decided to turn over a new leaf. "No more cruelty, no more injustice, "he promised, and he was as good as his word. He became known as the Gentle Monarch. Months after his transformation one of his ministers plucked up enough courage to ask him what had brought about his change of heart, and the king answered, “As I was galloping through my forests I caught sight of a fox being chased by a hound. The fox escaped into his hole but not before the hound had bitten into its leg and lamed it for life. Later I rode into a village and saw the same hound there. It was barking at a man. Even as I watched, the man picked up a huge stone and flung it at the dog, breaking its leg. The man had not gone far when he was kicked by a horse. His knee was shattered and he fell to the ground, disabled for life. The horse began to run but it fell into a hole and broke its leg. Reflecting on all that had happened, I thought："Evil begets evil. If I continue in my evil ways, I will surely be overtaken by evil. 'So I decided to change." The minister went away convinced that the time was ripe to overthrow the king and seize the throne. Immersed in thought, he did not see the steps in front of him and fell, breaking his neck. |
