IN ANOTHER WAY
换句话说
Mr. William was a gardener and a very good one too. Last year he came to work for Mrs.
Stone, who was old, fat and rich.
She knew nothing about gardens but thought that she knew a lot, and was always
interfering1.
One day, Mr. William got angry with Mrs. Stone and called her an elephant. She did not like that
at all, so she went to a lawyer, and a few months later, Mr. William was in court,
accused2 of
calling Mrs. Stone an elephant. The
magistrate3 found Mr. William
guilty4, so Mr. William said to
him, “Does that mean that I am not allowed to call this lady an elephant any more?”
“That's quite correct,” the magistrate answered.
“And am I allowed to call an elephant a lady?” the gardener asked.
“Yes, certainly,” the magistrate answered.
Mr. William looked at Mrs. Stone and said, “Goodbye, lady.”
威廉先生是一名园丁,手艺还很棒。去年起,他开始为斯通太太家工作,这位太太上
了年纪,体态臃肿,但很有钱。
斯通太太对园艺一窍不通,却自以为是,所以总是指手画脚的。有一天,威廉先生和
斯通太太起了口角,一怒之下把她叫作大象。她不能接受,于是去找律师。几个月以后,
威廉先生被告上了法庭,因为有人指控他把斯通太太称作大象。法官判威廉先生有罪,于
是威廉先生说:“那是不是意味着以后不允许我管这位女士叫大象?”
“理解非常正确。”法官回答。
“那我可不可以管一头大象叫作女士?”园丁问道。
“当然可以。”法官回答。
威廉先生看了看斯通太太,说道:“告辞了,女士。”
分享到: