A liberal librarian should be liable for the library's safety. Mr. Hall was a high level qualified¹ librarian. He had his license² for 10 years. The days started to lengthen³ in March. Mr. Hall spent more time in the library. After work, he used lens to make telescopes. One afternoon, he heard some steps. He followed then found no less than three books were stolen. Mr. Hall moved a lever to close the door first. Then he chased the thief, frightening him at the same time, "Stop or I will let off the gun!" He caught the thief with a cord but was surprised to find it was a boy. The boy cried, "Let go of my hand!" Mr. Hall let out the cord to let the boy loose. The boy let down his fist. His fear had already lessened⁴. Mr. Hall let the boy in his office. The boy spoke⁵ in whisper lest Mr. Hall would blame him. He said he had not enough money for food, let alone books. Mr. Hall let out a sigh. He had a liberal mind. Compared with stealing money, stealing book was the lesser⁶ evil. He said to the boy, "If you are a liar⁷, you will let me down. Every one is liable to error when he is poor. I let you off this time. You hold no liability of damages." Mr. Hall liberated⁸ the boy from fear The boy gained his liberty. To his surprise, the liberal librarian even gave him some money! The boy left with grateful tears.

一名慷慨的图书管理员对图书馆的安全是有责任的。霍尔先生是一个高水平的合格的图书管理员。他获得执照已经有10年了。3月起白天开始拉长。霍尔先生花更多的时间在图书馆里。下班后，他用透镜制作望远镜。一天下午，他听到脚步声。他跟过去发现不少于三本书被盗。霍尔先生移动了一个杠杆把门先关上。然后他追赶盗贼，一边还吓唬他：“停住!不然我开枪了!”他用一根绳索抓住了盗贼，但吃惊地发现那是个男孩。男孩喊道：“放开我的手!”霍尔先生放松绳子释放了男孩。男孩放下了拳头。他的恐惧减少了。霍尔先生让男孩进入他的办公室。男孩很小声说话，惟恐霍尔先生责怪他。他说他没有足够的钱来买食物，更不用说是书了。霍尔先生发出一声叹息。他是个思想开明的人。对比偷钱来说，偷书算是较小的罪恶了。他对男孩说：“如果你是一个说谎的人，那么你会使我失望的。如果一个人很穷的话，他很易于犯错。我这次宽恕你。你没有责任赔偿损失。”霍尔先生将男孩自恐惧中解放了出来。男孩获得了自由。让他吃惊的是，慷慨的图书管理员甚至还给了他一些钱!男孩含着感激的泪水离开了。