A long time ago, the kitchen chimney of a family was built so straight that when cooking meals, the flames came right out, while there was a big heap of firewood just in front of the opening of the range.

 

An old man living next door saw this and advised the master of the family: "You must quickly overhaul¹ the chimney, and make a bend of it so that when you light a fire, the flames will not come right out. You should move farther away the big heap of firewood in front of the opening of the range; otherwise it will be easy to catch fire."

 

Though the old man had reminded him of the danger, the master thought nothing of it.

 

One day, the sparks of the fire spilled onto the firewood. Sure enough, the house was ablaze². Fortunately all the neighbours rushed to help put out the fire.

 

Consequently, the master gave a feast to reward the neighbours who had come to help put out the fire. Those who had been injured, especially those badly burned, were given the seats of honour, but the old man who had advised him beforehand was not invited.

 

When the guests took their seats, a man with knowledge and experience said to the master: "If you had taken that old man's advice, overhauled³ the chimney earlier, and moved away the firewood before the range, then this fire wouldn't have happened. Today you invite and reward those who helped you put out the fire, which is quite reasonable."

 

从前，有一户人家的厨房烟囱砌得实在太直了，所以做饭的时候，火焰直冒；而在灶门前，却又偏偏堆了一大堆柴草。

 

隔壁邻居的老头，一看到这种情形，就劝告说：“你要快快拆修一下烟囱，把它拐一个弯儿，这样烧起火来就不会直冒火焰了。灶门前这一大堆柴草，应该搬远些，不然容易着火。”

 

老头虽然提醒了他，可是这家主人却全不放在心上。

 

有一天，火星溅到柴草上，果然房子也被烧着了。幸亏邻居都赶来救火，才把火扑灭了。

 

于是，主人家办了酒席，答谢那些前来帮忙救火的邻居。在救火中受伤的人，特别是那些伤得焦头烂额的，都坐在上座，主人却没有邀请早先曾经劝他修烟囱的那个老头。

 

入座的时候，一个有见识的人对主人说：“你如果听了那个老头的话，及早把烟囱修好，把灶前的柴草搬开，就不会发生火灾了。你今天请客，答谢救火的人，这是应该的。”

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