英語故事（雙語）：一個騙子

The impostor
一個騙子

A certain man fell ill, and, being in a very bad way, he made a vow that he would sacrifice a hundred oxen to the gods if they would grant him a return to health. Wishing to see how he would keep his vow, they caused him to recover in a shout time. Now he hadn't an ox in the world, so he made a hundred little oxen out of tallow and offered them up on an altar, at the same time saying, "Ye gods, I call you to witness that I have discharged my vow." The godsdetermined to be even with him, so they sent him a dream, in which he was bidden to go to the seashore and fetch a hundred crowns which he was to find there. Hastening in great excitement to the shore, he fell in with a band of robbers, who seized him and carried him off to sell as a slave: and when they sold him a hundred crowns was the sum he fetched.

Do not promise more than you can perform.

有個人狀況非常嚴(yán)重，他向眾神發(fā)誓，如果能恢復(fù)健康，他一定會供奉一百頭牛給眾神。眾神想要看看他是否能遵守諾言，很快便讓他痊愈了。他其實根本沒有一百頭牛，于是，就用酥油做成了一百頭小牛，放到供臺上供奉給眾神，同時嘴里還說著：“眾神靈，我請你們來見證，我已經(jīng)還清了自己許下的愿。”眾神決定要報復(fù)他，便帶他到一個夢境，在夢里，他被命令到海邊去，在哪里他將找到一百個銀元。他帶著激動的心情趕忙跑到海邊，可是卻遇上了一群強(qiáng)盜，強(qiáng)盜抓住他并將他賣了去當(dāng)奴隸，而賣他所得的錢正好是一百個銀元，也就是他要取的總數(shù)目。

不要許下力所不能及的愿望。