67. TRY SOME BEEF?

 　　Noon on April 10, 1820. Dark clouds covered the sun. Suddenly, the clouds burst and rain poured down out of the heavens. Thunder and lightning filled the sky. Pedestrians scattered, seeking shelter.

　　One of them dropped to his knees with a shriek. He had been struck by lightning! He was still alive, but burned. The smell of roasting flesh filled the air. He curled up in agony. His whole body shook, and tears fell from his eyes.

　　In moments, maggots crawled onto his scorched flesh. The man opened his eyes and looked at his sore, wounded body, with his flesh hanging in shreds. He pulled off a piece and stuffed it in his mouth. The onlookers were aghast.

　　His neighbors tried to stop him. "Fan Dengshan! Don't you know what you're doing? Stop that!"

　　"Mmm, delicious beef," he told them. "Delicious beef. Try some?"

　　By this time, most of the onlookers were either fainting or throwing up. Some of the hardier ones called his family and they took him home.

　　He did not die right away. He lingered for several months. By the time he died, there was little flesh left on his bones.

　　A little girl who lived next door asked her mother, "I know Mr. Fan was mean and used to quarrel with everyone. He was always picking fights with people. But why did he die so terribly?"

　　Her mother explained, "Fan Dengshan was a famous butcher from Daosi. He always said he was a butcher because he liked to eat beef so much.

　　"He used to sit in his butcher's store eating beef, telling his customers,'Delicious beef. Try some?'"

　　"He was rich, wasn't he?" the little girl asked.

　　"Yes, very rich. He used to brag that he would make lots and lots of money. He said he would never be poor as long as there were cows to kill.

　　"So what good did all his money do him? If he had been kinder, this wouldn't have happened to him."

　　"Is that why we never eat meat, Mother?" the little girl asked.

　　"Yes, because I certainly wouldn't want anything like that to happen to any of us. So I don't cause any animals harm. That is the best way to keep out of harm's way."

67.要尝尝牛肉吗？

　　1820年4月10日的中午，乌云遮住了太阳，忽然下起了倾盆大雨。天空中电闪雷鸣。行人都散开了，争相躲避。

　　他们中的一个人尖叫着跪倒了。他被雷劈中了！他还没死，但是已被烧伤。空气中充满了烤肉的味道。他痛苦地扭曲着，全身颤抖，眼里充满了泪水。

　　一会，蛆爬上了他烧焦的皮肤。那个人睁开眼睛，看着他的伤处，他几乎体无完肤了。他撕下一片肉，塞进自己的嘴里。旁观者都吓呆了。

　　他的邻居想阻止他。“范邓山!你知道自己在做什么吗？快住手！”

　　“嗯，好香的牛肉啊，”他对他们说，“很香的牛肉。尝一尝？”

　　这时候，大多数的旁观者不是吓晕了就是呕吐起来。一些胆大的人叫来他的家人，然后他们把他抬回家。

　　他没有马上死去，而是拖了几个月。在他死的时候，骨头上已经几乎没剩什么肉了。

　　隔壁一个小女孩问她的妈妈，“我知道范先生是一个很吝啬的人，还经常和别人吵架。他还老打架但是他为什么死得这么惨呢？”

   她的妈妈解释说，“范邓山是一个有名的屠夫。他总是说他自己很喜欢吃牛肉，所以当了屠夫。”

　“他总是坐在他的肉店前吃牛肉，还一边吃一边对顾客说，‘很香的牛肉。尝一尝?’”

  “他很有钱，是吧?”小女孩问。

　“是，非常有钱。他经常吹牛说自己会赚很多很多钱。他还说只要有牛杀，他永远都不会变穷。”

　　“他的钱到底给他带来了什么呢好处？如果他善良一些，这事就不会发生在他身上了”

　　“这是我们从不吃肉的原因吗？妈妈？”小女孩问

　　“是的，因为我不想那样的事发生在我们身上。所以我不伤害任何动物，那是避免我们被伤害的最好方法。”