A rich farmer's son, who had been bred at the university, always came at Christmas, to visit his father and mother.

 

One evening, they were all three at supper, and two fowls² having been served up, he told them that, by logic³ and arithmetic, he could prove those two chickens to be three.

 

"Well," said his father, "you ought to teach us how that can be done."

 

"Why!" Cried the scholar. "This is one, and that," continued he, "is two, one and two, you know, make three."

 

"Very clever, indeed, and very funny," returned the father, "but you ought to have told us also, how we are to divide those two fowls among us three. Perhaps you could not have managed that so easily, so I will assist you: your mother shall have the first fowl¹, I will have the second, and the third, you may keep for yourself, as reward for your great learning."

 

一个有钱的农民有一个儿子，他在大学接受过教育，总是圣诞节回家去看望他的父母。

 

一天晚上，他们三人在一起吃晚饭，有两只鸡被端上来，他用逻辑与计算的知识告诉他们，他能证明两只鸡可以变成三只。

 

“好啊，”他父亲说。“你应该教教我们怎么做。”

 

“哎呀，”学者叫道：“这是一，那个，”他接着说：“是二，一加二，你知道，等于三。”

 

 “非常聪明，真的，而且很有趣，”父亲回答道，“但是你也应该告诉我们，我们如何分配那两只鸡，也学你解决起来不会那么容易，所以我来帮助你，你妈妈应该吃第一只，我吃第二只，第三只你应该留给自己，作为你学得好的奖励。”

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