Aesop's Fables-The Belly and the Members

Aesop's Fables  

The Belly and the Members

One fine day, it occurred to the Members of the Body that they were doing all the work and the Belly was having all the food. So they held a meeting, and after a long discussion, decided to strike work till the Belly consented to take its proper share of the work. So for a day or two, the Hands refused to take the food, the Mouth refused to receive it, and the Teeth had no work to do. But after a day or two the Members began to find that they themselves were not in a very active condition: the Hands could hardly move, and the Mouth was all parched and dry, while the Legs were unable to support the rest. So thus they found that even the Belly in its dull quiet way was doing necessary work for the Body, and that all must work together or the Body will go to pieces.


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伊索寓言:肚子和器官 The Belly and the Members

伊索寓言:肚子和器官

The Belly and the Members

    Once upon a time, when all a man's parts of body did not work together as closely as they do now, but each had a will and way of its own, the Members generally began to accuse the Belly for spending a lazy, cumbersome and luxurious life, while they were all busy for the Belly's support, and fulfilling to its wants and pleasure; so they agreed and planned quietly to cut off its supplies for the future; The hands were no longer to carry food to the mouth, nor the mouth to receive the food, nor the teeth to chew it.

以前，人的四肢并不像现在这样友好地合作。他们有各自的意志和行事方式。他们指责肚子过着悠闲、奢侈的生活，而他们则为他终日忙碌着，给他吃给他喝，让他快乐。后来，他们密谋要切断对肚子的供应。手不再把食物送到嘴里，嘴不再接受东西，牙齿也不再咀嚼了。

They could not continue their work of making the Belly hungry and bow to their wish, Here they all began, one by one, to fail and surrender, and the whole body to collapse. Then the Members were convinced that the Belly also, cumbersome and useless as it seemed, had an important function of its own; that they needed each others in order to live; and that if they want to make sure the body is always in a healthy state, they must work together, each of them have to play the role, for the common good of all.

他们本想让肚子挨饿，从而使他臣服，可是，没过多久他们就坚持不住了。他们个个感到疲倦乏力，整个身体也消瘦下去。此时，这些器官才相信，肚子虽看似笨拙、无用，实际上却有其自身重要的作用。他离不开他们，而他们也同样离不开他。如果想让身体保持健康的话，他们就得为了共同的利益，精诚合作，各司其职。