In order to get rid of mice, a person of the state of Zhao got himself a cat that was good at catching¹ mice for that purpose.

 

That cat not only caught mice but also ate chicken. As a result, there was no mouse in that man's house any more, but there were very few chicken left too.

 

His son wanted to get rid of this chicken-eating cat, but the said, "It is the mice not the cat that is the bane to us. The mice steal our food, damage our clothes, and drill² holes in the wall, and ruin our furniture. If we didn't get rid of them, we would suffer from hunger and cold. So we must get rid of them! Without chicken, we just don't have chicken to eat at the most, but far from suffering from hunger and cold. So why get rid of the cat?"

 

一个赵国人为了捕鼠，特地弄回一只善于捕老鼠的猫。

 

这只猫擅长捕鼠，也喜欢吃鸡，结果赵国人家中的老鼠被捕光了，但鸡也所剩无几。

 

做儿子的想把鸡的猫弄走，父亲却说：“祸害我们家的是老鼠而不是鸡。老鼠偷我们的食物，咬坏我们的衣服，挖穿我们的墙壁，损坏我们的家具，不除掉它，我们就会挨饿受冻，所以必须除掉它！没有鸡，充其量不吃罢了，离挨饿受冻还远着哩。为什么要把猫赶走呢？”

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