090 市长和小男孩

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A very long time ago, there was a mean and corrupt mayor

很久很久以前，有一个卑鄙又腐败的市长。

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But his secretary was a kind man who hated injustice

但是他的秘书是个善良的人，憎恶不公。

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The mayor always felt nervous when his secretary was around

每当秘书在身边时，市长总是感到紧张。

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His secretary was so kind and fair that the mayor could not do what he planned

他的秘书太善良、太公正了，以至于市长无法实施他的计划。

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The mayor liked to be mean, but the secretary always asked him to change his decisions

市长喜欢对人刻薄，但秘书总是请他改变决定。

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The mayor decided to find some fault with his secretary

市长决定要找秘书的差错。

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One day, during a terrible snowstorm, the mayor called his secretary into his office

一天，在一场可怕的暴风雪中，市长把秘书叫进了他的办公室。

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The mayor said with a cruel smile," My good fellow, I have a desire for fresh peaches and strawberries

市长带着冷酷的笑容说："我的好伙计，我想吃新鲜的桃子和草莓。"

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I want you to go out and get these for me

我要你出去给我弄些来。

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I know it is a difficult task, so I will give you one month to complete it."

我知道这是件难事，所以我会给你一个月的时间去完成。

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Then he continued," When you complete this task, I will reward you generously

然后他接着说：“等你完成这个任务，我会重重奖赏你。

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But if you should fail, I will ask you to resign."

但如果你失败了，我就只能请你辞职了。”

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The secretary didn't know how to refuse

秘书不知道该怎么拒绝。

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He thought to himself," Where can I find peaches and strawberries at this time of year?

他在心里琢磨：“这种时节，我上哪儿去找桃子和草莓呢？

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Nowhere! I couldn't even buy them with all the money in the world."

哪儿都找不到！就算花光全世界的钱也买不到。”

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The mayor's demand was completely unreasonable

市长的这个要求实在太过分了。

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But the secretary knew that the mayor was testing his loyalty

但秘书心里清楚，市长这是在试探他的忠心。

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" This is hopeless, totally hopeless," he moaned

“没戏了，彻底没戏了，”他一路嘟囔着。

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The secretary gathered his strength and decided to give the task his best try

秘书定了定神，下定决心，无论如何也要尽全力试试。

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He told his family that he had to go away on important business

他跟家人说，有要紧的公务，必须出门一趟。

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He packed a small bag and set off in the snow to look for fresh peaches and strawberries

他收拾了一个小包，在雪地里出发，去寻找新鲜的桃子和草莓。

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He went from city to city but could not find the fruit anywhere

他从一个城市走到另一个城市，但哪儿都找不到那些水果。

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After several weeks of searching, he became very sick and returned home

寻找了几个星期后，他病得很重，回到了家里。

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The secretary's young son looked at him and asked," Father, why did you go away?"

秘书年幼的儿子看着父亲，问道："父亲，您为什么要离开？"

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The sick father, fearing that he might die, told his son the truth

生病的父亲担心自己会死，就把真相告诉了儿子。

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The little boy listened quietly until his father finished

小男孩静静地听着，直到父亲说完。

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Then he spoke:

然后他开口说道：

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" Father, I want you to rest and recover from your illness

"父亲，我希望您休息，把病养好。

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Please do not think about this task anymore

请不要再想这件事了。

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I have an idea

我有个主意。

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I think I can persuade the mayor to withdraw his demand."

我想我能说服市长撤回他的要求。"

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The boy went to the mayor's house

男孩去了市长家。

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When the boy saw the mayor, he greeted him with a big bow and said

男孩见到市长时，深深地鞠了一躬，说道：

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" Your Honor, my father is seriously ill

"市长大人，我父亲病得很重。

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While he was out searching in the snow for fresh peaches and strawberries, he was bitten by a snake."

他在雪地里寻找新鲜桃子和草莓时，被蛇咬了。"

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The mayor shook with anger

市长气得浑身发抖。

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" You disgusting liar!" he screamed." You stupid child!

"你这个恶心的骗子！"他尖叫道。"你这个蠢孩子！

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How could anyone be bitten by a snake in this cold weather?"

这么冷的天气里，怎么可能有人被蛇咬？"

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And he slammed his fist on the table

说着，他一拳砸在桌子上。

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The boy had expected this response

男孩预料到了这种反应。

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He bowed and asked politely," But Your Honor, if one cannot find a snake in this cold snow, how can one find fresh peaches and strawberries?"

他鞠了一躬，礼貌地问道："可是大人，如果这冰冷的雪地里找不到蛇，又怎么能找到新鲜的桃子和草莓呢？"

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The mayor was speechless

市长哑口无言。

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The boy had tricked him

这孩子把他骗了。

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He knew he had to withdraw his request

他知道自己必须撤回这个要求。

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When the town heard about what the mayor had done, they asked their king for a new mayor

镇上的人听说了市长的所作所为后，请求他们的国王换一位新市长。

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The king replaced the mean and corrupt mayor with the kind and fair secretary

国王用善良公正的秘书替换了那个卑鄙腐败的市长。

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The new mayor ruled wisely, and his son received a great gift from the king

新市长治理有方，他的儿子也从国王那里得到了一份厚礼。