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OK, so listen and enjoy!
好的，那么享受这篇故事吧！
Once upon a time, there were a cat and a mouse who lived together in a little house.
从前，有一只猫和一只老鼠，它们一起住在一个小房子里。
Unlike others of her kind might behave, this cat did not chase or eat the mouse, which meant that they could be friends, and indeed they were.
和她的同类不同，这只猫没有追逐或吃掉老鼠，这意味着他们可以成为朋友，事实上他们也确实成为了朋友。
Everyone called them the ‘strange friends’, and they lived a peaceful life together in the city.
每个人都称他们为“奇怪的朋友”，他们一起在城市里过着平静的生活。
But one dark day, the cat came and spoke to the mouse. ‘We must think of winter, my dear.
但是，在一个黑暗的日子里，猫走过来老鼠说：“我们必须为冬天做准备了，亲爱的。”
It is bright and sunny now, but in a few months’ time it will be dark and cold, and there will be hardly any food to eat. We should save something for the winter.
现在阳光明媚，但几个月后就会又黑又冷，几乎没有食物可吃。我们应该为冬天存点东西。
After all, if you go out looking for food, a cat could eat you! ’ ‘You’re quite right, friend,’ said the mouse. ‘And I know just the right food to keep. Let’s buy a pot of fat. It won’t go off, and it’s very versatile.
毕竟，如果你出去找食物，猫可能会吃掉你！’‘你说得很对，朋友，’老鼠说。‘我知道该保存什么样的食物。我们买一罐油脂吧。它不会变质，而且用途广泛。
You can cook lots of things with fat. ’ So they bought a pot of fat, and were about to store it in the kitchen, when the mouse said, ‘Wait! We cannot keep it here. Can you imagine? Every day we’ll walk past this pot of delicious fat and want to eat it.
你可以用油脂烹饪很多东西。”于是他们买了一罐油脂，正准备把它存放在厨房里，这时老鼠说：“等等！我们不能把它放在这里。想象一下，每一天，我们都会路过这罐美味的油脂，并且想吃掉它。
No, let us put it somewhere where we will forget about it until we need it: in the church, under the altar. Nobody goes to that church anymore, do they? Out of sight, out of mind.’
不，我们把它放在一个我们会忘记它的地方，直到我们需要它的时候再拿出来：放在教堂里的祭坛下面。没有人再去那个教堂了，是吗？眼不见，心不烦。
So they went into the church, hid the pot of fat under the altar, and then went home and promptly forgot about it.
于是他们走进教堂，把那罐油脂藏在祭坛下面，然后回家，很快就把这件事忘得一干二净。
Or at least, the mouse forgot about it, but for the cat, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ was not an accurate description of her thought process.
或者至少，老鼠已经忘记了这件事，但对于猫来说，“眼不见，心不烦”并不能准确描述她的思维过程。
In fact, she thought about the pot of fat very often.
事实上，她经常想起那罐油脂。
At first she thought, ‘Ah, what a wonderful idea it was to get that pot of fat! We will be very thankful for it in the winter.’
起初她想，“啊，得到那罐肥肉真是个好主意!”到了冬天，我们会非常感激的。”
But as the weeks passed, she thought more and more about the fat, and her thoughts began to turn selfish. She fantasised about going and eating the fat.
但是随着时间的推移，她越来越频繁地想那罐油脂，她的想法开始变得自私起来。她幻想着去吃掉那块油脂。
Oh, it would taste so good! So the cat came up with a plan.
哦，那味道一定很好！于是猫想出了一个计划。
She went to the mouse and said, ‘Dear mouse, I have to ask you a favour.
她走向老鼠，说：“亲爱的老鼠，我得请你帮个忙。”
You see, my cousin has given birth to a beautiful little kitten with white and brown fur.
你看，我的表妹生了一只漂亮的小猫，它的毛是白色和棕色的。
He really is very special, and my cousin has asked me to come to the christening and be his godmother.
他真的非常特别，而且我的表亲已经邀请我去参加洗礼并当他的教母。
As I’m sure you can understand, this is a great honour.
我相信你能理解，这真的很荣幸。
Would it be alright if I left you to look after the house alone, just this one day? ’
“我今天可以把家交给你一个人吗？”
‘Of course, of course! ’ said the mouse. ‘Family comes above all. Go and enjoy the christening, and if there happens to be some nice food or drink, bring a few crumbs back to me. In fact, I would love just a few drops of the wine – christening wine is always sweet and delicious. ’
“当然可以，当然可以！”老鼠说，“家庭至上。去享受洗礼吧，如果有好吃的或好喝的，给我带一点回来。事实上，我只想要几滴酒——洗礼酒总是又甜又美味。”
The cat smiled and said, ‘I’ll do my best. ’ Naturally, the cat was lying. She had no cousin and nobody had asked her to be godmother.
猫笑着说，“我会尽力的。”当然，猫在撒谎。她没有堂表亲，也没有人请她做教母。
She happily strolled out of the house and went straight to the church.
她愉快地走出房子，径直向教堂走去。
She pulled out the pot of fat, opened it up and licked her lips. Oh, it looked so good!
她拿出那罐油脂，打开来，舔了舔嘴唇。哦，看起来真不错！
The cat licked wildly at it, savouring the delicious taste, and she ate the whole top layer of the fat, until she was quite full up.
猫贪婪地舔着它，品尝着美味，她吃掉了整个顶，直到她完全吃饱了。
Then she went for a walk on the roofs of the city.
然后她去城市的屋顶上散步。
She hoped to spot some dessert there, but finding none, she lay down in the sun and had a nap.
她希望在那里能发现一些甜点，但是没有找到，于是她躺在阳光下打了个盹。
She fantasised about the pot of fat again, licking her lips in anticipation of the next time she could eat from it.
她又幻想那罐油脂，舔着嘴唇期待下一次能吃到它。
When she returned home that evening, the mouse said, ‘Well, you look like you’ve had a wonderful time! I suppose it was a good christening, then? ’ ‘Oh yes, the best I’ve ever been to. ’ ‘And what did they name the child?
那天晚上，当她回到家时，老鼠说:“嗯，你看起来玩得很开心!我想这是个不错的洗礼吧?“哦，是的，这是我参加过的最好的一次”“他们给孩子取了什么名字?”
The cat thought for a moment and then said, ‘Top-Off. ’ ‘Top-Off! ’ said the mouse.
猫想了一会儿，然后说：“结束。”“结束！”老鼠说。
‘I must say, I have never heard such a peculiar name in my life. Are there others in your family with that name?’
我得说，我这辈子都没听过这么奇怪的名字。你们家还有别人叫这个名字吗？
‘It is a perfectly normal name, thank you very much. You have a godchild, don’t you? He’s called Big Nose, if I recall. That’s just as strange a name as Top-Off. ’
“这是一个非常正常的名字，非常感谢。你有一个教子，不是吗？如果我没记错的话，他叫大鼻子。这和结束一样是个奇怪的名字。”
