28. THE RESULTS OF CRUELTY

　　During the Tang dynasty there was a very cruel farmer.　　

　　At noon one day he went to see how everything was in his fields. He saw that the bull a neighbor used to plow had wandered into his field. It was eating the grains and had trampled his crops.　

　　The farmer was furious. "I have worked so hard to grow these crops, and now you have come to steal some and trample the rest! You must be tired of living?' With that, he took out his knife and said, "I am not going to kill you, but since you have eaten my crops, you have to leave your tongue here. Let's see if you ever dare steal from me again?'
　
　　The bull must have known it had done wrong, because it dropped its head and looked sorry. The mean farmer grabbed it by the horn and cut out its tongue. Even though it hurt, the bull did not cry out in pain.　

　　Later, that cruel farmer got married and had three children. Each one of his children lost the ability to speak about half a year after it had begun to talk. The farmer did not understand why his children were mute. He took his children to see many famous doctors, but none of the medicine they prescribed could make them speak again.
　
　　Then the farmer remembered the tongue he had cut out of the bull's mouth a dozen years before. He knew what was wrong with his children. His cruelty was reflected back into his family.

28. 残忍的报应

　　在唐代，有一个非常残忍的农夫。

　　有一天的中午，他去视看他的农田。他看到邻家的耕牛走进了他的田里。它吃起了谷物，还践踏庄稼。

　　农夫狂怒地说：“我辛辛苦苦才种了这些庄稼，你现在不仅来偷吃，还踩坏我的庄稼！你活腻了吧？”说着，他拿出他的刀，说，“我不会杀你，但是既然你吃了我的庄稼，你就该把舌头给我留下。看你还敢不敢来偷吃？”

　　那头牛一定是知道它错了，因为它低下头，看起来很愧疚的样子。那个吝啬的农夫抓住它的角，割下了它的舌头。尽管疼得厉害，牛还是不发一声。

　　不久，那个残忍的农夫结婚了，还有了三个孩子。但他每个孩子都在会说话半年后，再也说不出话来。农夫不知道为什么他的孩子都是哑巴。他带他的孩子看了很多名医，但是他们开的药都没能再让孩子们说话。

　　当农夫想起来很多年前他从牛嘴里割下的舌头，才知道他的孩子是怎么回事，他的残忍使他的家庭遭到报应了。