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一个很有钱的地主临终时躺在床上,奄奄一息。他用尽气力告诉三个儿子他死后去挖床下面，说完后就咽气了。 过了些日子，三个儿子在指定的位置开始挖，挖出来了三个罐子，三个罐子一个撂着一个。最上面罐子里装的是泥；中间罐子里装的是干牛粪;最下面一个罐子里装的是稻草，这个罐子下面还有一枚银币。兄弟们都很困惑。 "很明显，父亲想要通过罐子和其中的内容来传达某些信息，”大哥说，“但到底是什么呢？” 兄弟们绞尽脑汁还是想不出合理的解释。最后他们决定请教给他们家看病的医生，这人也是他们的好朋友。兄弟们把问题告诉他，医生笑了。 "你父亲喜欢猜谜，”他说，‘‘我猜最后他也会设个难题。破解也很简单，你说最上面罐子里是泥土，意思是他想让大儿子继承他的土地。第二个罐子里是牛粪，意思是他想让二儿子继承牛群。最后罐子里是稻草，稻草是金色的，意思是他想把金子都给小儿子。” 兄弟们对父亲分配的财产很满意，对医生的睿智也连连称赞。 "但还有件事呢，”小儿子说，"罐子下面的银币是怎么回事?” “你们父亲知道你们会来问我，”医生微笑着说，"银币是给我的。” The Three Pots A rich landowner was on his deathbed. Gasping for breath, he told his three sons to dig under his bed when he was gone, and saying that, gave up the ghost. Some days later, the sons dug at the spot and unearthed three pots, placed one above the other. The topmost pot contained mud； the middle pot contained dried cow- dung and the lowest pot contained straw. Below this pot there was a silver coin. The brothers were perplexed. "Obviously, father meant to convey some message to us through the pots and their contents," said the oldest brother. “But what ?” They wracked their brains but none of them could come up with an explanation. Finally they decided to consult their doctor who was also a family friend. The doctor laughed when the brothers put their problem before him. "Your father loved puzzles," he said, "and I think he could not resist setting last one. The interpretation is simple. The topmost pot contains mud, you say. That means he wants his eldest son to have his fields. The second pot contains cow-dung. It means he wants his second son to have his herd of cattle. The last pot contains straw. Now straw is golden-colored. That means he wants his youngest son to have all his gold." The brothers were happy with the way their father had apportioned his wealth and marveled at the doctor1 s sagacity. "But one thing remains unexplained," said the youngest brother. “The silver coin at the bottom of the pots.” "Your father knew you would come to consult me,” smiled the doctor. "The coin is my fee." |
