The Shepherd’s Mistake

王秀凤

Early every morning， a shepherd took his flock of sheep out in the fields to graze. He would sit by watching—as the sheep lazily munched on fresh grass. After they had eaten， he would round them up and walk back home. Sometimes while watching his flock， he would curl up in a quiet corner and go off to sleep.

One day， the shepherd caught a wolf which had strayed into the field， eyeing his sheep. However， it was some distance away and it made no effort to come nearer. The shepherd at first stood on guard against the wolf， as against an enemy， and kept a strict watch over its movements.

But the wolf did not do anything. When the shepherd herded the sheep and headed home with his flock， the wolf quietly followed them at a distance.

This continued for a while. The shepherd would find the wolf waiting at the edge of the field every morning. But it made not the slightest effort to seize the sheep and would just watch. So， by and by， the shepherd let down his guard a bit. A few days later， he began to actually look forward to the wolfs presence.

The wolf， who generally sat on a large piece of rock， looked like a  big sheep dog from afar. The shepherd thought that other wild animals or mischief?makers would be scared of the ‘dogs presence and not harm his flock while it was around.

Now， he began to look upon the wolf as a guardian of his flock. One day， in the middle of grazing his sheep， the shepherd was called back to home urgently. Leaving the sheep entirely in charge of the wolf， he left.

When he came back， what did he find？ That the wolf had eaten most of his flock， with only a few sheep wandering about. Carcasses of the dead sheep lay around， everywhere.

The shepherd sat down in shock after witnessing the slaughter. “Serves me right，” he moaned to himself， “after all， I entrusted my flock to a wolf.”

精彩译文：

牧羊人的错误

每天早上，牧羊人会带着他的一群羊到田野上去放牧。他总是坐在旁边看着羊儿们懒洋洋地嚼着新鲜的青草。羊群吃饱之后，牧羊人会把它们聚集起来，赶着它们一起回家。有时候他放牧羊群时，也会蜷缩在安静的角落里睡一觉。

一天，牧羊人发现一头离群的狼在盯着他的羊群。然而狼离羊群很远，没有要靠近羊群的意图。起初牧羊人防备着这头狼就像防备敌人一样，他严密地盯着狼的举动。

但是狼什么都没做。当牧羊人放牧后，带领着羊群回家时，狼远远地跟随着他们。

这样持续了一段时间，牧羊人发现每天早上，这只狼会在田野上等着，但是并没有做出任何一点捉羊的举动，只是看着。所以，渐渐地，牧羊人放松了他的警惕。一段时间后，他竟然开始期待狼的出现。

那头狼通常坐在一块大岩石上，远看像一只大牧羊犬。牧羊人认为，有这样一只不会伤害他的羊群的“牧羊犬”在这儿，其他的野兽或者坏蛋会退避三舍。

现在，他把这头狼看成了他的羊群的“守卫者”。一天正在放牧时，牧羊人被紧急地叫回了家。他留下由狼“看管”着的羊群，离开了。

当他回来时，发生了什么事情？那头狼已经咬死了大多数的羊，只剩几只四散奔逃。被咬死的羊到处都是。

牧羊人看到惨不忍睹的大屠杀，惊坐在地上。“都怨我，我竟然把我的羊群交给一头狼去看管。”牧羊人沉痛地说。