THIS FABLE IS INTENDED FOR YOU

WISE men of ancient times ingeniously discoveredhow to tell people the truth without being blunt to theirfaces． You see， they held a magic mirror before the peo－ple， in which all sorts of animals and various wondrousthings appeared， producing amusing as well as instructivepictures． They called these fables， and whatever wise orfoolish deeds the animals performed， the people were toimagine themselves in their places and thereby think，"Thisfable is intended for you！"In this way no one's feelingswere hurt． Let us give you an example．

There were two high mountains，and at the top of each stood a castle． In the valley below ran a hungry dog，sniffing along the ground as if in search of mice or quail．Suddenly a trumpet sounded from one of the castles， to an－nounce that mealtime was approaching．The dog immediate－ly started running up the mountain，hoping to get his share； but when he was halfway up， the trumpeter ceasedblowing， and a trumpet from the other castle commenced．"Up here，"thought the dog，"they will have finished eat－ing before I arrive，but over there they are just gettingready to eat．"So he ran down， and up the other mountain．But now the first trumpet started again， while the secondstopped．The dog ran down again，and up again； and thishe continued until both trumpets stopped blowing， and themeals were over in both castles．

Now guess what the wise men of ancient times would have said about this fable， and who the fool could be whoruns himself ragged without gaining anything， either here orthere？

寓言说这就是你呀

 

古代的聪明人发明了一个天才的办法，把真实的情况告诉人而不使对方的面子下不来。你们知道，他们在人们面前举着一面神奇的镜子，把各色各样的动物和许多稀奇的东西都照出来，使人可以看出有趣而富有教育意义的图画。这些图画叫做寓言，当这些动物做了些聪明事或傻事的时候，人们都可以站在它们的立场设身处地地想一想：“寓言说这就是你呀！”

这样，谁也不会觉得丢面子了。我现在举一个例子吧：

从前有两座大山，每座山顶上有一个古堡。在下边的山谷里有一只饥饿的狗在跑。

它一边跑，一边嗅，看看有没有什么耗子或鹌鹑可吃。这时一个古堡里忽然吹起吃饭号来。

狗立刻向山上跑，希望能得到一份饭食。不过当它跑到一半路的时候，号子就忽然停止吹了。这时另一个古堡里又有号声响起来。狗想：“在这里，恐怕我还没有跑到，大家就已经把饭都吃完了。可是在那里大家还不过刚刚开始吃饭。”于是它就赶快跑下来，又向另一座山上跑去。不过先前的号声又吹起来了，而第二个号声却忽然中止。狗马上又跑下来，向头一座山上跑。它这样不停地两边跑，直到两个号声都没有了为止。当然两个古堡里的饭也都吃完了。

现在请你想一想，古代的聪明人在这个寓言里表明了什么意思呢？那个在两边跑来跑去、跑到精疲力竭的傻瓜是谁呢？

这篇小故事像《神方》和《老上帝还没有灭亡》一样，在一般的安徒生童话全集里都没有被收进去。它首次发表于哥本哈根出版的《丹麦人民画报》1836年10月号上。它没有被收进全集中去，也许是因为它与安徒生当时写的童话性质完全不一样，因而不被认为是“童话”，而受到忽视。这篇小故事的寓意，一看即清楚，不需另作解释。