54. NO QUARTER GIVEN

　　Wu Ling was the richest man around. He had plenty of money to spend, so he lived it up.

　　Wu's son liked to have good times, too. Like father, like son. The son particularly liked to enjoy new and exotic foods. Once when the Wus were having a feast, the cook bought a huge turtle at the market.
　　
　　"This kind of turtle is hard to get, but the meat is great! Master Wu will be tickled pink!" The cook chortled while he whetted his knife to butcher the turtle.But just as he was about to chop off its head, he saw that the turtle was crying!It seemed to be begging for its life.
　　The cook put down his knife and told Master Wu about this strange turtle."You can't ask me to kill a turtle when it's begged me to spare it."

　　Master Wu bawled out the cook. "You dumb idiot! Can't you do anything right? Get me a knife, I'll butcher it myself if you won't!" He took his best knife from the drawer and rushed into the kitchen. When he saw the poor turtle crying,he didn't feel sorry for it at all. As quick as a flash, he chopped off the turtle's head. He must have chopped hard, because the head bounced up and landed on the beam holding up the roof.

　　"Well, never mind that, cook the rest of the turtle and serve it to me this evening."
　　
　　That evening, the Wus were enjoying the turtle meat. They had eaten only a few pieces when the young Master said he felt dizzy. He looked up and screamed.He pointed at the beam and shouted, "Look out! There's a giant turtle on the beam!"
　
　　"I don't see anything there," Wu Ling said.
　　
　　"Go away! Go away! Ahhh! They're biting me! Help, Papa, they're biting me!"
　
　　"What's biting you? There's nothing here?"
　　"The turtles! There are turtles all over me, and they're biting me! Help!"Young Wu rolled all over the floor and kicked and screamed, but nobody else could see any turtles at all.
　
　　"They're eating my feet! Help me, somebody, it hurts!" There was nothing anybody could do for him, because they couldn't see the turtles that were taking young Wu's life.
　　
　　After three days of this, young Wu died. He was a victim of his own greed and cruelty.
　　
　　Remember that every one of us is responsible for our own actions. If you don't want to bring suffering down on yourself, don't make other living beings suffer.

54.因果不虚

　　吴灵是附近最有钱的人。他有很多很多钱，过着奢侈的日子。

　　吴的儿子也很喜欢享乐。有其父必有其子。他的儿子特别喜欢吃一些新颖奇异的东西。一次，当吴家举行宴会时，厨子从市场买回一只很大的乌龟。

　　“这种龟很难得，它的肉好吃极了！吴少爷一定会很高兴的！”厨子磨刀准备杀龟时，高兴地笑起来。但是正当他要砍下乌龟地头时，看到那只龟在哭泣！它好像在企求饶恕自己的性命。

　　厨子放下刀，告诉吴少爷这只奇龟。“你叫我怎么忍心去杀一只向我求饶的龟。”

　　吴少爷怒骂厨子“白痴！你连正经事不干？把刀给我。你不杀我杀！”他从抽屉里拿出他最利的刀，冲到厨房里。当他看到那可怜的乌龟在哭，一点也不同情它。一瞬间，他就把乌龟的头砍了下来。他砍得太用力了，龟头弹起来落到支撑屋顶的梁上。

　　“好了，别管它。把乌龟剩下的部分煮了，我今天晚上吃。”

　　那天晚上，吴家人尽情享用龟肉。才吃了一点，吴少爷就说自己头昏眼花。他往上一看，尖叫起来。他指着房梁大叫，“小心！梁上有一只巨龟！”

　　“那儿什么都没有啊。”吴灵说。

　　“滚开！滚开！啊！他们在咬我！救我啊，爸爸，他们在咬我！”

　　“什么东西咬你？没有什么东西啊？”

　　“那些龟！我身上都是龟，他们在咬我！救命啊！”小吴在地上滚来滚去，又叫又踢，但是其他人都没看见乌龟。

　　“它们在吃我的脚！救命啊，快来人，好疼啊！”别人都毫无办法，因为他们都看不见那些要命的乌龟。

　　三天后，小吴死了。他成了自己贪婪残忍的牺牲品。

　　记着，每个人都要为自己的行为负责。如果你不想给自己带来折磨，就不要折磨其他生物。