..续本文上一页. The crow said, "Go without me, sir pigeon, I have been sick to my stomach all night long."

　　The pigeon replied, "My dear crow, that sounds so strange. I”ve never heard of a crow getting an upset stomach. But I have heard they sometimes faint from hunger. I suspect you want to gobble up as much as you can of the meat and fish in the kitchen. But it”s for people, not crows. People don”t eat pigeon food. Pigeons don”t eat crow food. And it would not be wise for you to eat people food. It might even be dangerous! So come with me as usual, and be satisfied with crow food, sir crow!"

　　The crow said, "I”m too sick, friend pigeon, I”m too sick. Go ahead without me."

　　"Very well," said the pigeon, "but your actions will speak louder than your words. I warn you, don”t risk safety for the sake of greed. Be patient until I return." Then the pigeon left for the day.

　　But the crow paid no attention. He thought only about grabbing a big piece of fish, and was glad to be rid of the pigeon. "Let him eat grass seeds!" he thought.

　　Meanwhile, the cook prepared the meat and fish in a big stew pot. While it was cooking, he kept the lid slightly off, to allow the steam to escape. The crow smelled the delicious fragrance in the rising steam. Watching from the bird house, he saw the cook go outside to rest from the heat.

　　The crow saw that this was the chance he”d been waiting for. So he flew into the kitchen and sat on the edge of the stew pot. First he looked for the biggest piece of fish he could find. Then he stuck his head inside and reached for it. But in so doing, he knocked the lid off! The clattering sound brought the cook into the kitchen at once.

　　He saw the crow standing on the edge of the pot with a fish bigger than he was, hanging from his beak! Immediately, he closed the door and window of the kitchen. He thought, "This food is for the rich man. I work for him, not for some mangy crow! I will teach him a lesson he”ll never forget!"

　　The poor crow could not have picked a worse enemy. This cook just happened to be rather ignorant, so he did not mind being cruel when he had the upper hand. He took no pity at all on the clever crow.

　　He grabbed him, and plucked out all his feathers. The poor crow looked ridiculous without his shining black feathers. Then the vengeful cook made a spicy paste from ginger, salt and chilli peppers. He rubbed it all over the crow”s pink sore skin. Then he put him on the floor of the bird house, and laughed.

　　The crow sweated and suffered from the terrible burning pain. He cried in agony all day long.

　　In the evening, the pigeon returned from a quiet day searching for and eating grass seeds. He was shocked to see the terrible state of his friend the crow. He said, "Obviously, you didn”t listen to me at all. Your greed has done you in. I”m so sad there”s nothing I can do to save you. And I”m afraid to stay in this bird house so close to that cruel cook. I must leave at once!"

　　So the careful pigeon flew away in search of a safer bird house. And the plucked and pasted crow died a painful death.

　　The moral is: Greed makes one deaf to sound advice.

《The Pigeon and the Crow [The Danger of Greed]》全文阅读结束。