One day, Mr. Dongguo drove a donkey carrying a sack of books to the State of Zhongshan to seek an official post.

一天，东郭先生赶着一头毛驴，背着一口袋书，去中山国谋求官职。

Suddenly, a wounded wolf scurried¹ to him and begged:

突然，一只带伤的狼窜到他的面前，哀求说:

"Sir, I am being pursued by a hunter. I was shot by an arrow and almost lost my life. I beg you to hide me in your sack, and I'll reward you well in the future."

“先生，我现在正被一位猎人追赶着，一箭射中，差一点送了性命。求求您把我藏在您的口袋里，将来我会好好报答您的。”

Mr. Dongguo said:

东郭先生说:

"By doing this I'll offend prominent officials, and face disaster. But I'll surely try to save you. This is something I ought to do."

“我这样做，会得罪达官贵人，灾祸就会临头。不过，我一定想办法救你，这是我应该做的事情。”

At this moment, the wolf curled up its limbs. Mr. Dongguo tied it up with rope, put it into his sack, and drove the donkey to the roadside to let the hunter pass by.

这时候，只见狼蜷曲了四肢。东郭先生用绳子把它捆住，装进了口袋，把驴了赶到道旁，好让猎人通过。

A moment later, the hunter came up and found the wolf missing. He asked Mr. Dongguo:

不一会儿，猎人追了上来，发现狼不见了，就问东郭先生:

"Have you seen a wolf? Where did it run off to?"

“你看见一只狼没有?它往哪里跑了?”

Mr. Dongguo said:

东郭先生说:

"I haven't seen any wolf. This road leads to many byroads. The wolf may have escaped from one of them."

“我没有看见狼。这条路岔道多，狼也许从岔道上逃走了。”

The hunter could do nothing but believe this to be true. So he turned around and left.

猎人听了，无可奈何，也就信以为真。于是，他就转身走了。

When the wolf heard the hoofbeats fade in the distance, it said in the sack:

狼等到听不见马蹄的声音了，就在口袋里说:

"Sir, please let me out of the sack, untie² the rope, pull out the arrow on my limb, and let me escape."

“先生，请您把我从口袋里放出来，解开捆我的绳子，拔掉我腿上的箭，让我逃走吧!”

The kindhearted Mr. Dongguo, bewitched by its sweet words, released the wolf. But unexpectedly, the wolf howled at him:

仁慈的东郭先生，经不起狼的花言巧语，果然把狼放了出来。谁料，狼却曝叫着对东郭先生说:

"Please, sir, now I am so starved. Please let me devour³ you."

“求求先生，现在，我饿得不得了。请让我吃掉您吧!”

Whereupon the wolf bared its teeth, brandished⁴ its claws, and pounced⁵ upon him. Mr. Dongguo fought the wolf bare-handed and kept on shouting:

说着，狼就张牙舞爪，扑向东郭先生。东郭先生徒手同狼搏斗，并且不住地叫道:

"You ungrateful wolf! You ungrateful wolf!"

“狼，忘恩负义!狼，忘恩负义!”

At this moment, an old peasant carrying a hoe passed by. Mr. Dongguo hurriedly got hold of him and asked him to pass judgement. The old peasant thought it over and said:

正在这时，有个老农民扛着锄头路过，东郭先生急忙拉住他，请他评理。老农民想了想说:

"I don't believe either of you. How can this sack hold a wolf? Please do it again so I can see it with my own eyes."

“你们的话，我都不相信。这只口袋怎么能装得下一只狼呢?请你再装一下，让我亲眼看一看。”

The wolf agreed. Again it lay on the ground, curled up into a ball, let Mr. Dongguo tie it up with rope and put it in the sack. The old peasant tied up the sack tightly at once and said to Mr. Dongguo:

狼同意了。它又躺在地上，蜷作一团，让东郭先生重新用绳子捆起来，装进了口袋。老农民立即上前把袋口扎紧，对东郭先生说:

"This man-eating beast will never change its nature. It is too stupid and too dangerous to be kind to a wolf."

“这种吃人的野兽，决不会改变本性。对狼讲仁慈，简直太糊涂了，太危险了!”

Then, he raised his hoe and struck the wolf to death. Mr. Dongguo finally saw the light, and said to the old peasant:

说罢，抡起锄头，把狼打死了。东郭先生终于恍然大悟，对老农民说:

"Thank you for saving my life today. I'll always remember this lesson."

“谢谢你今天救了我，我一定记住这个教训!”