An old woman had1 a cat. The cat was2 very old; she could3 not run quickly, and she could not bite4, because she was so old. One day the old cat saw5 a mouse; she jumped and caught the mouse. But she could not bite it; so the mouse got6 out of her mouth and ran7 away, because the cat could not bite it.
Then the old woman became8 very angry because the cat had not killed9 the mouse. She began to hit the cat. The cat said10, "Do not hit your old servant11. I have worked for you for many years, and I would12 work for you still, but I am too old. Do not be unkind13 to the old, but remember what good work the old did14 when they were young."
一位老妇有只猫,这只猫很老,它跑不快了,也咬不了东西,因为它年纪太大了。一天,老猫发现一只老鼠,它跳过去抓这只老鼠,然而,它咬不住这只老鼠。因此,老鼠从它的嘴边溜掉了,因为老猫咬不了它。
于是,老妇很生气,因为老猫没有把老鼠咬死。她开始打这只猫,猫说:“不要打你的老仆人,我已经为你服务了很多年,而且还愿意为你效劳,但是,我实在太老了,对年纪大的不要这么无情,要记住老年人在年青时所做过的有益的事情。”