23.亡羊补牢（上）It is never too late to mend

亡羊补牢 It is never too late to mend

In the past, there was a man who kept thirty sheep.

One morning, he discovered that one sheep was missing. Where had it gone? Upon examination, he found that his sheepfold was damaged. During the night a wolf had broken into the sheepfold and devoured the sheep.

His friend said to him: "You had better mend the sheepfold quickly."

 He said: "The sheep had already been devoured by the wolf. What is the use of mending the sheepfold?"

 He did not listen to his friend's advice.

 The following morning, he discovered that during the night the wolf had again broken into the sheepfold and devoured another sheep. Not until then did he realize that his friend was right.

Consequently, he mended the sheepfold at once, and thereafter no more sheep were devoured by the wolf.