老太婆与医生的寓言故事

　　【老太婆与医生的寓言中文版】

　　有一个老太婆患了眼疾，接近失明了。她请一位医生给她治疗，因为眼睛看不清不方便出门，所以请医生上门诊治，并和医生谈妥了费用。医生每次上门治疗完毕要离开的时候，总是顺手牵羊偷走一些老太婆家里的东西。过了一段时间，老太婆的眼疾终于要治好了，她渐渐能看得清了，但是她家里的东西也被医生偷得差不多了。

　　治疗结束时，医生向老太婆讨要之前谈妥的治疗费，老太婆拒绝付这笔钱，于是被医生告到法官那里。在法庭上，老太婆承认她许诺过要付给医生治疗费，条件是把她的眼病治好，让她重见光明。但是医生不但没有治好她的眼睛，她眼睛的状况还比以前更糟了。她说：“以前我还能看见家里的所有物品，现在却什么都看不见了。”

　　【老太婆与医生的寓意】

　　这个故事说明，贪得无厌的人，总会不知不觉地留下自己的罪证。

　　【老太婆与医生的英文版】

　　THE OLD WOMAN AND THE DOCTOR

　　An Old Woman became almost totally blind from a disease of the eyes, and, after consulting a Doctor, made an agreement with him in the presence of witnesses that she should pay him a high fee if he cured her,while if he failed he was to receive nothing. The Doctor accordingly prescribed a course of treatment, and every time he paid her a visit he took away with him some article out of the house, until at last, when he visited her for the last time, and the cure was complete, there was nothing left. When the Old Woman saw that the house was empty she refused to pay him his fee; and, after repeated refusals on her part,he sued her before the magistrates for payment of her debt. On being brought into court she was ready with her defense. “The claimant,” said she, “has stated the facts about our agreement correctly. I undertook to pay him a fee if he cured me, and he, on his part, promised to charge nothing if he failed. Now, he says I am cured; but I say that I am blinder than ever, and I can prove what I say. When my eyes were bad I could at any rate see well enough to be aware that my house contained a certain amount of furniture and other things; but now, when according to him I am cured, I am entirely unable to see anythere at all.”