THE JUDGMENT OF BABOON

One day, it is said, the following story happened:

Mouse had torn the clothes of Itkler (the tailor), who then went to Baboon¹, and accused Mouse with these words:

"In this manner I come to thee: Mouse has torn my clothes, but will not know anything of it, and accuses Cat; Cat protests likewise her innocence², and says, 'Dog must have done it'; but Dog denies it also, and declares Wood has done it; and Wood throws the blame on Fire, and says, 'Fire did it'; Fire says, 'I have not, Water did it'; Water says, 'Elephant tore the clothes'; and Elephant says, 'Ant tore them.' Thus a dispute has arisen among them. Therefore, I, Itkler, come to thee with this proposition: Assemble the people and try them in order that I may get satisfaction."

Thus he spake, and Baboon assembled them[119] for trial. Then they made the same excuses which had been mentioned by Itkler, each one putting the blame upon the other.

So Baboon did not see any other way of punishing them, save through making them punish each other; he therefore said,

"Mouse, give Itkler satisfaction."

Mouse, however, pleaded not guilty. But Baboon said, "Cat, bite Mouse." She did so.

He then put the same question to Cat, and when she exculpated³ herself, Baboon called to Dog, "Here, bite Cat."

In this manner Baboon questioned them all, one after the other, but they each denied the charge. Then he addressed the following words to them, and said,

"Wood, beat Dog.
Fire, burn Wood.
Water, quench⁴ Fire.
Elephant, drink Water.
Ant, bite Elephant in his most tender parts."

They did so, and since that day they cannot any longer agree with each other.[120]

Ant enters into Elephant's most tender parts and bites him.

Elephant swallows Water.
Water quenches⁵ Fire.
Fire consumes Wood.
Wood beats Dog.
Dog bites Cat.
And Cat bites Mouse.

Through this judgment⁶ Itkler got satisfaction and addressed Baboon in the following manner:

"Yes! Now I am content, since I have received satisfaction, and with all my heart I thank thee, Baboon, because thou hast exercised justice on my behalf and given me redress⁷."

Then Baboon said, "From to-day I will not any longer be called Jan, but Baboon shall be my name."

Since that time Baboon walks on all fours, having probably lost the privilege of walking erect⁸ through this foolish judgment.

1 baboon   

n.狒狒

参考例句：

• A baboon is a large monkey that lives in Africa.狒狒是一种生活在非洲的大猴子。
• As long as the baboon holds on to what it wants,it's trapped.只要狒狒紧抓住想要的东西不放手，它就会被牢牢困住。

2 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

3 exculpated   

v.开脱，使无罪( exculpate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has been exculpated from the charge. 他已被申明无罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was exculpated by the testimony of several witnesses. 几名目击者的证词证明他无罪。 来自辞典例句

4 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

5 quenches   

解（渴）( quench的第三人称单数 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却

参考例句：

• Water afar quenches not fire. 远水解不了近渴。
• Daylight quenches the candles and the birds begin to sing. 日光压倒了烛光，小鸟开始歌唱。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。

8 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。