The Ass And The Load Of Salt
驢和鹽
by Aesop
選自《伊索寓言》
A Merchant, driving his Ass homeward from the seashore with a heavy load of salt, came to a river crossed by a shallow ford. They had crossed this river many times before without accident, but this time the Ass slipped and fell when halfway over. And when the Merchant at last got him to his feet, much of the salt had melted away. Delighted to find how much lighter his burden had become, the Ass finished the journey very gayly.
一個商人，從海邊趕著他的驢回家去，驢馱著很多鹽，來到了一條需要涉水通過的河。他們已經多次平安地穿過這條河了，但是這一次驢在河中央滑倒了。當商人好不容易想辦法讓驢站起來的時候，大部分鹽已經在河水中溶解掉了。驢子發現負重減輕了許多而十分高興，並愉快地完成了剩餘的旅程。
Next day the Merchant went for another load of salt. On the way home the Ass, remembering what had happened at the ford, purposely let himself fall into the water, and again got rid of most of his burden.
第二天，商人又去買了這麼多鹽。在回家的路上，驢記起了之前在淺灘上發生的事情，它就故意讓自己滑倒在河裡，於是，它又一次減輕了不少負擔。
The angry Merchant immediately turned about and drove the Ass back to the seashore, where he loaded him with two great baskets of sponges. At the ford the Ass again tumbled over; but when he had scrambled to his feet, it was a very disconsolate Ass that dragged himself homeward under a load ten times heavier than before.
而生氣的商人立馬掉頭，把驢又趕回到海邊，裝了兩大藍海綿在驢身上。這一次，當他們過河的時候，驢再一次故意滑倒了，但是當它掙扎著站起來的時候，卻是十分的沮喪，因為現在所背負的重量是之前的十倍以上，它是邁著十分艱難的步子才回到了家。
The same measures will not suit all circumstances.
正所謂：同一措施不能適合所有的環境。