68.THE BUTCHER'S END

　　Zhao Fuqiao was a coarse man, but he was rich, because he made so much money selling beef. Every day he butchered at least three heads of cattle. That's quite a bit of beef, so over a period of years, he became one of the richest people in the county.

　　Around the beginning of the nineteenth century, when Fuqiao was old, his son Guanghua took over the family business. They were so proud of their business that they put an old stump in front of their gate. They had used that stump for many years as a chopping block. They would put the cow's head on the block and smash it. When people saw that stump, they knew this was a butcher's house.

　　But one night something strange happened. The stump turned into a cow's head, and rolled all around the streets and roads of the city! The people who saw it were astonished.
　　
　　That night, people passing by the Zhao's place heard the sound of innumerable cattle fighting inside. Nobody could figure out what was going on!
　
　　A day or two later, Guanghua was doing business as usual when a soldier came to buy meat. But since he was buying meat on official business, he wanted a special low price.
　
　　"Are you crazy?" Guanghua screeched. "I'd lose money!" So instead of losing his money, he lost his temper. They quarreled. Guanghua got so mad that he picked up his cleaver and split that soldier's head wide open!

　　When Fuqiao heard that his son killed a soldier, he was so upset that he fell over and died.
　
　　Guanghua was put to death. Before long, his widow and children were in rags, begging on the streets. The neighbors said, "We never expected that the rich Zhaos would be asking for handouts right outside the gate of their old mansion!"
　
　　A Buddhist explained it to them. "They brought it down upon themselves by killing so many cattle. If you do good deeds, you will earn a good fortune for you and your loved ones. If you do bad deeds, you will cause yourself and your family as much suffering as you caused others.

　　"This is why you should never eat meat. You should try to control your temper, and get along well with all living creatures so that everyone can enjoy life."

　　Everybody thought that was reasonable. The other butchers in the area realized that what happened to the Zhaos could easily happen to them, too, so they closed up their butcher shops and went into other lines of business. Zhihuo county was a pleasant, peaceful place for many years afterwards.

　　Now, of course, medical science has proved many times that eating beef is bad for your health. It causes heart disease and cancer. No matter how you look at it, you should know that eating meat can do you no good whatsoever.

68.屠夫之死

　　赵阜乔是一个很粗鲁的人，但是他很有钱，因为他靠卖牛肉发了财。每天他至少要宰杀三头牛，那样就有很多牛肉。所以许多年后，他就成了县里最富有的人之一。

　　大约在十九世纪初的时候，阜乔已经老了，他的儿子广华接管了他们家族的生意。他们很为自己的生意骄傲，所以他们在门前放了一个树桩。多年来他们都把这个树桩当作砧板。他们会把牛头放在上面然后把它打碎。当人们看到那个树桩，就知道这是屠夫的家。

　　但是一天晚上，出了件怪事。那个树桩变成了一个牛头，还滚过了全城的街道！人们看到了，没有不惊讶的。

　　那条晚上，从赵家旁边走过的人听到了无数牛搏斗的声音，没人知道发生了什么。

　　一两天后，广华还是照常做生意。这时来了一个士兵要买肉。因为他是为官府买肉，他要求肉价低一些。

　　“你疯了？”广华尖叫着说，“我会赔钱的！”为了不赔钱，他发火了，他们俩吵了起来。广华暴怒，他拿起了屠刀，把那个士兵的头劈开了！

　　当阜乔听说他的儿子杀了一个士兵，他一下子惊死了。

　　广华被判处死刑。不久，他的妻儿们就衣裳褴褛，要到街上要饭了。邻居们都说，“我们万万没想到，富裕的张家也会在他们的府邸门外要饭！”

　　一个佛教徒向他们解释。“这是他们杀了那么多牛招来的报应。如果你做好事，你和你所爱的人都会得到好报；如果你做坏事，让其他生命受折磨，那么你和你的家人都会遭受同样的折磨。”

　“这就是你们为什么绝不该吃肉的原因。你们应该控制自己的心情，与所有的生命和谐共处，这样每个人才能过得快乐。”

　　每个人都认为这话很有道理。这个地区其他的屠夫想，发生在赵家的事情，也很可能会发生在他们身上，所以他们都关了自己的肉店，改做其他生意了。很多年内，知霍县成了一个充满快乐、和平的地方。

　　现在，医学已经多次证明吃牛肉对健康有害。它能造成心脏病和癌症。不管你怎么看，你应该知道，吃肉无论如何对你没有好处。