英語故事（雙語）：馬棚里什么事最難做

馬棚里什么事最難做

One time Duke Huan of the state of Qi inspected the stable and asked the officer who was in charge of the stable, "What is the most difficult thing to do in a stable?"

Before the officer had time to reply, prime minister Guan Zhong picked up the topic and answered, "I once kept horse and I know this well. Binding the fence is the most difficult thing to do in a stable. If you use bent wood first, then if the first one is bent, the other ones should also be bent ones. Even if there is straight one left, it still cannot be used. If you first use a straight wood, then all the other ones must be straight too. Even if there is not enough straight wood, the bent ones cannot be used instead."

齊桓公視察馬棚，問負責養(yǎng)馬的官吏：“馬棚里什么事最難做?”

養(yǎng)馬的官吏還沒來得及回答，相國管仲接過話茬回答說：“我曾經養(yǎng)過馬，對這個問題比較清楚。綁扎馬棚的柵欄是最難做的活。如果先用彎曲的木頭，第一根是彎的，后面的就必須用彎的;即使有直木頭剩在那兒，也不可能用上。要是先用直木頭，第一根是直的，后面的就全部要用直的，即使木頭直的不夠用，也不可能用彎曲的木頭來補充。”