287-小故事大道理-挤牛奶的女孩

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Patty, a milkmaid milked her cow and had two full pails of fresh, creamy milk. She put both pails of milk on a stick and set off to the market to sell the milk. As she took steps towards the market, her thoughts took steps towards wealth. On her way, she kept thinking about the money she would make from selling the milk. Then she thought about what she would do with that money.

Patty是一个挤牛奶的女孩。她给牛挤了奶，一共慢慢的两桶新鲜、浓郁的牛奶。她把两个桶放到一根棍子上，出发去集市卖牛奶。当她往集市走的时候，她的脑子却走向了财富。一路上，她不停地想着她卖牛奶能赚到的钱。还想用那钱能做什么。

She was talking to herself and said, “Once I get the money, I’ll buy a chicken. The chicken will lay eggs and I will get more chickens. They’ll all lay eggs, and I will sell them for more money. Then, I’ll buy the house on the hill and everyone will envy me.” She was very happy that soon she would be very rich. With these happy thoughts, she marched ahead. But suddenly, she tripped and fell. Both the pails of the milk fell and all her dreams were shattered. The milk spilt onto the ground, and all Patty could do was cry. “No more dream,” she cried foolishly!

她自言自语地说：“我一旦得到了钱，我就买一只鸡。鸡会生蛋，我会有更多的鸡。它们都会生蛋，我就买更多的钱。然后，我会在山上买一个房子，所有人都会羡慕我。” 想着她很快就能变得很富有，她高兴极了。带着这些高兴的想法，她向前迈进。突然，她绊到摔倒了了。两桶奶都掉了下来了，她的梦也破碎了。牛奶溅到地上，Patty只能哭着说：“再也没有梦了。” 她傻傻地哭着。

Moral of the Story

Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

Vocabulary

Milkmaid: 挤牛奶的女孩 （maid=女仆，少女）

Pail: 水桶

Set off: 出发

Thought：思想，想法

Wealth：财富

Envy：羡慕、嫉妒

March：行进

Trip：绊倒

Shatter：破碎