英文短故事：The Merchant and The Foolish Barber

In a small town there lived a merchant named Manibhadra. He and his wife were very generous and kind. Everyone in the town knew them and visited their house and enjoyed their hospitality. 

 

One day. Manibhadra lost all his ships in a storm at sea. They were loaded with valuable cargo¹. All the people who had lent him money for trading demanded immediate² repayment³. Manibhadra had to sell all his possessions and pay them. In the end he was left with nothing. 

 

Along with his wealth, all his friends also left him. Manibhadra was very discouraged. “Even my friends have deserted⁴ me. They just liked my wealth," he thought bitterly. 

 

“I have nothing to give my wife and children except pain and suffering. Maybe it is better to end my life. I can’t bear to see them suffer." With such disturbed thoughts, Manibhadra went to sleep. 

 

That night he had a strange dream. A monk⁵ appeared in his dream and said, “If you touch me on my head with a stick I will change into enough gold to last many lifetimes." In the dream Manibhadra saw himself touching⁶ the monk with a stick and the monk turning into a huge pile of gold coins. 

 

The next morning Manibhadra woke to the sound of someone knocking at the door. “Can my dream be true? Will I ever become rich again?" thought Manibhadra to himself. 

 

“The barber is here for you," called out his wife from the door. 

 

“How foolish of me to believe in a dream. It will never come true," said Manibhadra to himself as he sat down for his shave. Just then, there was a knock at the door. 

 

Manibhadra got up and opened the door. To his surprise, there stood a monk looking at him silently and meaningfully. 

 

Manibhadra picked up a stick and in a daze⁷, touched the monk on his head with it. And there in front of him was a huge pile of gold coins. Manibhadra was overjoyed. He sent the barber away with a generous measure of gold coins, advising him to keep things to himself. 

 

The barber was a greedy man. He was also very foolish. “So when you hit these monks⁸ on the head, they change into gold. Now I know how to become rich. I am tired of shaving and cutting people s hair and earning a rupee or two, he thought." 

 

He went to a monastery⁹ and invited a few monks to his house for a feast As soon as the monks entered his house, the barber took a stick and started to beat them on their heads. The poor monks were terrified. One of them managed to escape from the barber’s house and called the soldiers for help. The soldiers arrested the barber and took him to the Judge. 

 

“Why did you beat the monks with a stick?" asked the judge. “When Manibhadra hit a monk on his head, he turned into a heap of gold," answered the barber. 

 

The judge called Manibhadra and asked him if that was true. Manibhadra explained the whole story to the judge in detail. On hearing the story, the judge realised that the barber had acted due to greed and dishonesty and punished the foolish barber.  

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

4 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

5 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

6 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

7 daze   

v.(使)茫然，(使)发昏

参考例句：

• The blow on the head dazed him for a moment.他头上受了一击后就昏眩了片刻。
• I like dazing to sit in the cafe by myself on Sunday.星期日爱独坐人少的咖啡室发呆。

8 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。