IN ANOTHER WAY

　　换句话说

　　Mr. William was a gardener and a very good one too. Last year he came to work for Mrs.

　　Stone, who was old, fat and rich.

　　She knew nothing about gardens but thought that she knew a lot, and was always interfering.

　　One day, Mr. William got angry with Mrs. Stone and called her an elephant. She did not like thatat all, so she went to a lawyer, and a few months later, Mr. William was in court, accused ofcalling Mrs. Stone an elephant. The magistrate found Mr. William guilty, so Mr. William said tohim, “Does that mean that I am not allowed to call this lady an elephant any more?”

　　“That's quite correct,” the magistrate answered.

　　“And am I allowed to call an elephant a lady?” the gardener asked.

　　“Yes, certainly,” the magistrate answered.

　　Mr. William looked at Mrs. Stone and said, “Goodbye, lady.”

　　威廉先生是一名园丁，手艺还很棒。去年起，他开始为斯通太太家工作，这位太太上了年纪，体态臃肿，但很有钱。

　　斯通太太对园艺一窍不通，却自以为是，所以总是指手画脚的。有一天，威廉先生和斯通太太起了口角，一怒之下把她叫作大象。她不能接受，于是去找律师。几个月以后，威廉先生被告上了法庭，因为有人指控他把斯通太太称作大象。法官判威廉先生有罪，于是威廉先生说：“那是不是意味着以后不允许我管这位女士叫大象？”

　　“理解非常正确。”法官回答。

　　“那我可不可以管一头大象叫作女士？”园丁问道。

　　“当然可以。”法官回答。

　　威廉先生看了看斯通太太，说道：“告辞了，女士。”