51. COOKED TURTLE

　　Fresh water turtle was the favorite food of Zheng Laozhi, who lived in Ankang, Dantu, in Jiangsu province. He loved to eat fresh water turtle for three reasons. First, he said the flesh was just right, not too firm and not too soft. Second, he slept better after eating turtle. Third, he thought turtle meat must be good for the heart and kidneys. So whenever he had enough money in his pocket, he'd go buy a turtle to cook.
　　
　　"Spare me, please! Be a nice guy and don't murder me!" That's what someone dressed in black said to him in a dream. He knelt in front of Zheng Laozhi and pleaded for his life. The funny thing was that after he woke up, Zheng found that his wife had had the same dream.

　　That morning, a fisherman came to sell a big, fat fresh water turtle he had caught. Zheng Laozhi was delighted. He drooled as he paid the fisherman for the turtle, even though the price was high. "Cook it!" he gleefully sang out.
　　
　　"Just a minute," his wife said, "Have you forgotten our dream last night?" "Aww, that was just a dream. You can't believe everything that pops up in a dream."
　　
　　" But I don't think that a man dressed in black could be bringing any good news. Look, husband, why don't you just let this turtle go?"
　　
　　"What? You want me to let a turtle go when it's only a step away from the kitchen? You woman sure have some weird ideas."
　　
　　With that, Zheng walked into the kitchen and cooked that turtle. Then he ate it and enjoyed every bite. But for some reason, after he finished, he decided to take a bath.
　　
　　His wife waited and waited outside the bathroom, but her husband didn't come out again. She listened carefully. She didn't hear him washing. She knocked on the door, but he didn't answer.
　　
　　Finally, she went in to see what was going on. When she opened the door,she saw the bathtub was full of blood. Her husband had dissolved into the bath water like a turtle cooked into soup, and there was nothing left of him but his hair!

51.煮熟的乌龟

　　江苏丹徒安康有个叫郑老志的人，他最喜欢吃的菜是淡水龟。他这么爱吃淡水龟有三个原因。一，肉刚刚好，既不太嫩又不太老。二，吃龟后他睡得很香。三，他相信吃龟对心和肾有好处。所以只要他口袋里有足够的钱，他就买乌龟来煮吃。

　　“放了我吧，求求你！行行好，不要杀我！”他梦到有一个穿黑衣服的人对他说。他跪在郑老志的面前，求他饶他一命。最奇怪的是 ，郑老志醒后，发现他的妻子也做了一模一样的梦。

　　第二天早上，一个渔夫要卖给郑一只他捕到的又大又肥的淡水龟。郑老志非常高兴。尽管价格不菲，他还是买了。他一边付钱一边流口水。“煮了它！”他高兴的哼着小调。

　　“等等，”他妻子说，“你忘了昨天夜里的梦了？”“哎呀，只是一个梦而已。梦怎么能当真呢。”

　　“但是我不认为一个穿着黑衣服的人会带来喜讯。好了，你为什么不放了这只乌龟呢？”

　　“什么？都要到厨房了，你还要我放了这只乌龟？你们女人总是疑神疑鬼。”

　　说完，郑就走到厨房里煮那只龟。然后细细品味。不知道为什么，他吃完后想要洗个澡。

　　他妻子在浴室外等了很久，但是她丈夫再也没有出来。她仔细一听，没听见他洗澡的声音。她上去敲门，但是他没有应声。

　　最后，她进去看看这是怎么了。当她开门后，看到澡盆里都是血。她丈夫就像那只被煮成汤的龟一样，在洗澡水里融解了，除了头发，什么都不剩！