In the past, there was a man named Ai Zi who was fond of sailing on the sea.

 

One night, Ai Zi had his boat moored¹ near a small island Around midnight, he seemed to hear someone weeping or talking under the water. So he listened intently, and soon he heard someone say: "Yesterday the Dragon King issued an order that all living creatures with tails in water are to be beheaded. I am an alligator² and have a tail. I am very frightened of being slaughtered³, so I am crying. You are a toad⁴ and don't have a tail. What are you weeping for?"

 

After a while, Ai Zi seemed to hear someone answer: "Though I have no tail now, I am afraid that I may be traced back to the time when I was a tadpole⁵ with a tail then, so I am weeping."

 

从前，有个叫艾子的人，喜欢在海上航行。

 

一天晚上，船停泊在一个小岛的附近。大约半夜时分，他仿佛听到水底下有人发出哭泣的声音，又好像有人在说话。于是，他认认真真地听了下去。一会儿，他听到有人说：“昨天龙王下了命令，水中的动物，凡是有尾巴的都必须斩首。我是鳄，有尾巴，非常害怕遭到杀戮，所以哭了起来。你是蛤蟆，又没有尾巴，哭什么呀?”

 

一会儿，他仿佛又听到有人回答说：“我现在虽然没有尾巴，但是我害怕会追究到我蝌蚪年代的事情上去，因为那时候我是有尾巴的，所以哭泣。”

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