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人为财死，鸟为食亡 PEOPLE DIE IN PURSUIT OF
WEALTH： BIRDS DIE IN PURSUIT OF FOOD
从前，有个家资富足的老板，借东西必还，从不占小便宜。那年年底，伙计们聚在一起吃年夜饭。老板让大家仔细想想，有没有借人东西或者拖欠了人家银钱未归还的。伙计们齐声说没有。老板说：“一年三百六十天，我们天天到河里打水吃，可曾付过钱？河水来自大海，大海由海龙王掌管，吃水付钱，就该付还海龙王。”于是老板挑选张三和李四，把装满银子的布包交给他俩，即日启程，全部扔人大海。
Once upon a time there was a wealthy proprietor. He never
sought petty gains and always returned everything he borrowed. One
year when all his salesmen had finished eating the grand dinner on
the lunar New Year's Eve, he asked them if there was anything he
should return or any debt he should pay. "No," all his
salesmen answered in unison.
"Have we ever paid for the water we drink all the year
round from the river?" the proprietor asked. "The river
water is from the sea. The sea is under the control of the Dragon
King, so we should pay the Dragon King for the water we have
drunk." Then he handed Zhang San and Li Si a whole bag of
silver and asked them to leave the next morning and throw the
money into the sea.
张三和李四各有各的嗜好，一个爱喝酒，一个喜欢吃点心。他俩接受了这桩差使，都想：“老板真傻，有钱不花，却往海水里扔，实在可惜！不如留下来……”于是他们都打起了小算盘，动起了坏心思。
Zhang San was addicted t0 wine and Li Si to snacks. Each
of them thought to himself "Our boss is a fool. Money should
not be thrown into the sea. It is such a pity!" Each of them
had his own idea about how to use the money.
一个月以后，他们走到了海边。张三说：“总算看到大海啦，准备扔银子吧！”李四讲：“慢，我们还是第一次见到大海，应该先喝杯酒，高兴高兴。酒我带来了，你尽管畅饮。”张三似乎十分感激地说道：“我也早为你准备好了点心，让你快快活活吃一顿。”
After a one-month journey the two arrived at the sea.
Zhang San said: "Finally we have arrived. We'd better throw
the silver into the ocean." "Don't be in too much of a
hurry," Li Si said. "This is the first time we have ever
viewed the sea, Let us drink some wine while we enjoy the vast
magnificence of the sea. I've brought some wine. You may drink as
much as you want." "I've also prepared some steamed
stuffed buns for you. We may also enjoy a delicious dinner
together," Zhang San said in excitement.
这时候，两人坐在海滩上，一个饮酒，一个吃包子。不多时，两人都倒在海边上。原来李四在酒瓶里放人砒霜，张三也在肉馅里下了毒药，结果一起丧生。老板在家里等候多日，不见音讯，又派出两名伙计，去海边寻找。
Zhang San and Li Si sat on the seaside, one drinking wine
and the other eating steamed stuffed buns. Suddenly they both
dropped dead on the beach. Each had poisoned the other: Li Si had
put white arsenic into the wine and Zhang San had put some poison
into the meat stuffing. The proprietor waited for Zhang San and Li
Si to return from their journey. A long time had passed, but there
was still no news from them. The proprietor was very worried and
sent another two men to look for them.
两个伙计日夜兼程，不到一个月就来到海边。他们找呀，不见人影，喊呀，也没有回音。后来他们在海滩上发现两具枯骨和几只死去的海鸟，旁边有个布包，里面四百两银子一个也不少。老板听了两个伙计的禀报后说：“一定是张三和李四见了银子都想独吞，于是你害我，我害你，结果白白送了两条命，真是‘人为财死’啊！至于这几只死鸟，时至寒冬，寻食困难，见到海边有两具尸体，争相啄食，最后当然要中毒丢命了。这可以叫做“鸟为食亡。”
The two men walked day and night, and came to the seaside
in less than a month. They searched everywhere for the lost pair.
Finally they found the cloth bag with silver beside which were two
skeletons and some Dead Sea birds. The two men returned home and
reported it to the proprietor. The proprietor said:
"Obviously Zhang San and Li Si each wanted the silver all to
himself Zhang San must have poisoned Li Si, and vice versa. As a
result both of them lost their lives! We see that 'people die in
pursuit of wealth.' The birds had difficulty in finding food
during the cold winter. When seeing two corpses by the seaside,
they vied with each other for the food. Finally they died too.
This is 'Birds die in pursuit of food."
后来，“人为财死，鸟为食亡”这句俗语就渐渐流传开了。
The saying "people die in pursuit of wealth; bird
die in pursuit of food" was thus derived from this story.
Nowadays people use it to mean that greed will lead to misfortune.
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