英文幽默故事：Fair Shares

Ali and Abraham were brothers. Their mother died very early. Their father also died after some time. He left for his sons a cow and a date-tree. 

 

Ali was cunning¹. He was greedy too. Abraham was kind and honest. He trusted his elder brother. They wanted to divide their father’s property². Ali said, “I will be very fair with you, Abraham. You take the front portion³ of the cow as your share. I will take the hind⁵ side of the cow. Each one gets his profit only from his share." In the same way the tree was also divided. The upper part of the tree went to Ali. And the lower⁶ part of the tree went to Abraham. 

 

Abraham fed the cow very well fresh grass and water. The cow became healthy. It gave lot of milk. Ali got the milk. He sold the milk and got a lot of money. But he did not hare⁴ the money with Abraham. Abraham asked his brother about his share of money. Ali replied, “I got the milk from my portion of our cow. Hind part is mine as per the agreement. Each of us gets the benefits⁷ only from his part." Abraham said nothing. 

 

A wise man advised Abraham. He said some thing in the ear of Abraham. The next day Ali was milking the cow. Then Abraham beat the cow in the front portion. The cow started kicking. Ali shouted at Abraham. “You fool! Why do you beat the cow? Do not see me milking the cow?" 

 

“The front portion of the cow is mine. I can do anything. That is our agreement," said Abraham. 

 

Ali could not say anything. Finally he agreed to share the money. Abraham said, “Not just money. You must also share the work of feeding and taking care of the cow too." Ali agreed. 

 

With regard to the tree, Ali had taken upper part of the tree. He made holes on the upper part of the tree. A kind of sweet-smelling juice came out of these holes. The juice was collected in pots. These pots were kept near the holes. Ali sold the juice for money. But he did not share either the money or the juice with his brother. 

 

Again the wise man advised Abraham. The next day Ali was on the top of the tree. He was fixing pots near the holes. At that time Abraham was cutting the lower part of the tree. Ali shouted at Abraham. But Abraham reminded Ali about the agreement. He said, “I can do anything with my part. You can not question or stop me." 

 

Ali now realized his mistakes. He said, “Abraham, I have been a bad brother to you. I feel ashamed⁸ of my selfishness⁹. I ask your pardon. I promise to look after you well hereafter." 

 

And so he did. Both the brothers lived happily. They shared the profit.  

1 cunning   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；n.狡猾，奸诈

参考例句：

• A spy used cunning means to find out secrets.间谍使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• The fox is known for its cleverness and cunning.狐狸的机敏和狡猾是人所共知的。

2 property   

n.财产，所有物，所有权，性质，特性，（小）道具

参考例句：

• He has made over his property to a hospital.他已将财产转交给了一家医院。
• Oil has the property of floating on water.油有浮在水上的特性。

3 portion   

n.部分，份，命运；v.将...分配，分配

参考例句：

• You are paid your portion not later than a week. 不会晚于一周你就可以得到你那一部分报酬。
• Three thousand dollars is no more than a portion.3000美元只不过是一部分。

4 hare   

n.野兔

参考例句：

• The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.兔子正睡觉时，乌龟赢得了比赛。
• I saw a hare in my backyard this morning.今天早晨我看见后院有一只野兔。

5 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 lower   

adj.较低的；地位较低的，低等的；低年级的；下游的；vt.放下，降下，放低；减低

参考例句：

• Society is divided into upper,middle and lower classes.社会分为上层、中层和下层阶级。
• This price is his minimum;he refuses to lower it any further.这个价格是他开的最低价，他拒绝再作任何降价。

7 benefits   

n.津贴费；利益( benefit的名词复数 )；（给职工的）奖金；救济金；益处

参考例句：

• economic benefits accruing to the country from tourism 旅游业为该国带来的经济效益
• The article enthused about the benefits that the new system would bring. 本文热情赞扬了新制度将带来的好处。

8 ashamed   

adj.感到惭愧，感到害臊，因为羞耻或勉强作某事

参考例句：

• He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
• You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。

9 selfishness   

n.自私；自我中心；利己主义；任性

参考例句：

• Love is the antithesis of selfishness. 爱是自私的对立面。
• He was angered by the selfishness of the others. 他被别人的自私激怒。 来自《简明英汉词典》