Elikozōe 崴峲小僧の廆

Historiettes Chinoises (08)

老鼠偷油
老鼠咬碎香油瓶的瓶塞，把尾巴伸进瓶里蘸香油吃，它高兴地夸奖自己的尾巴：
“多好的尾巴！有了你，我才吃上了香油”。
猫发现了老鼠偷油，就守在鼠的洞边，当老鼠钻回洞里时，猫咬住了它的尾巴，
把它拖了出来。老鼠气得咒骂自己的尾巴：
“多坏的尾巴！没有你，我绝不会送命”。

Translation

Once a rat attracted by the scent of sesame oil went near the bottle stopper. Then it extends its tail to grab the liquid in the vase, and as it eats, it is pleased and praises its own tail: “Such a good tail! With you, I can eat sesame oil.” A cat found the rat messing with the oil, so the rat retreats back to its hole, but the cat bites its tail, drags it out. The rat starts cursing its tail: “Such a bad tail! Without you, I would not be killed.”