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The Holy Cat
圣洁的猫
Once, there was a cat who lived in a town. The cat was very good at hunting mice.
从前，有一只猫住在一个小镇上。这只猫非常擅长捕鼠。
The mice in the town were slow, so the cat caught lots of them.
镇上的老鼠跑得很慢，所以猫抓了很多老鼠。
The cat knew where all the mouse holes were, so he could sit outside the mouse holes and wait for the mice to come out.
猫知道所有的老鼠洞在哪里，它可以坐在老鼠洞外，等着老鼠出来。
Soon, the cat had hunted all the mice in the town.
很快，猫就猎杀光了镇上所有的老鼠。
So the cat went into the fields to hunt mice. But the mice who lived in the fields were much quicker than the town mice.
于是猫跑到田野里去捕鼠。但是住在田野里的老鼠比城里的老鼠跑得快得多。
The cat tried to hunt them, but he didn’t catch many mice.
猫试图猎杀他们，但他并没有抓到很多老鼠。
The cat had an idea. He left the fields for a few weeks and waited.
猫有了一个主意。他离开了田野几个星期，等待着。
Then he put some prayer beads around his neck and sat outside a mouse hole. He closed his eyes and started purring.
然后，他把一些念珠戴在脖子上，坐在一个老鼠洞外。他闭上眼睛，开始发出咕噜声。
He purred so that it sounded like a prayer.
他发出咕噜声，听起来像是在祈祷。
Soon, a mouse came out of the hole and saw the cat with his prayer beads.
很快，一只老鼠从洞里出来，看到了猫和他的念珠。
‘Oh no, a cat!’ he said, and quickly went back into the hole.
‘哦，不，是一只猫！’他说，然后很快又回到了洞里。
‘Why do you run away?’ said the cat softly. ‘I am an old neighbour who has come back from holy travels, but you do not say “hello”.
“你为什么要逃跑？”猫轻轻地说。“我是你的老邻居啊，我刚从圣地旅行回来，但你却连招呼都不打一个。
You run away when you see me. Do not be afraid. Come and talk, and pray with me.’
你一看到我就跑开了。别害怕。来跟我聊聊，跟我一起祈祷吧。”
The mouse was very surprised. It stayed in the hole, but it spoke to the cat.
老鼠大吃一惊。它呆在洞里，但它张口和猫说了话。
‘Why should I come and talk with you? Do cats not hunt mice? If I come and pray with you, you will eat me just like you ate my brothers and sisters.’
“我为什么要和你聊呢？猫不就是抓老鼠的吗？如果我和你一起祈祷，你会吃掉我，就像吃掉我的兄弟姐妹一样。”
‘Ah!’ said the cat sadly. ‘What you say is true. I have sinned many times.
“啊！”猫伤心地说。“你说的都是真的。我犯过很多次罪。
I sinned every time I hunted a mouse. But I am truly sorry. Look at these prayer beads.
我每次追捕老鼠都犯了罪。但我真的很抱歉。看看这些念珠。
I do not hunt now, but I spend my time praying and reading holy books.
我现在不打猎，而是把时间花在了祈祷和阅读圣书上。
I have studied the Qur’an and learned the Qur’an by heart, and I have visited the Hajj in Mecca.’
我学过《古兰经》，背过《古兰经》，还去过麦加朝圣。
The mouse was very surprised by this. It was a very holy thing to do to learn the Qur’an by heart.
老鼠对此感到非常惊讶。背诵古兰经是一件非常神圣的事情。
Those who learned the Qur’an by heart were called Hafiz. And it was also very holy to visit Hajj.
那些熟记古兰经的人被称为哈菲兹。访问麦加也是非常神圣的。
Those who visited Hajj were called Hajji. So this cat was both a Hafiz and a Hajji, which made him very holy.
那些访问麦加的人被称为哈吉。因此，这只猫既是哈菲兹，又是哈吉，他可太神圣了。
‘Go and tell your people about this,’ said the cat.
“去把这件事告诉你的同类，”猫说。
‘Tell them that I am sorry for my sins, and that I am working to be a better cat.
“告诉他们，我为我的罪过感到抱歉，我正在努力成为一只更好的猫。
Tell them that I want to speak and pray with them.’ And the cat started purring again, like he was praying.
告诉他们我想和他们谈谈，和他们一起祈祷。”说完猫又开始发出咕噜声，就像在祈祷一样。
The mouse went and told his family, who were also very surprised.
老鼠去告诉了他的家人，他们也很惊讶。
Each of them went and looked out of the hole, and saw the cat with his prayer beads, purring in a holy way.
所有老鼠都去洞外看了看，看到猫戴着他的念珠，用神圣的方式发出咕噜声。
The mice all talked and decided to test the cat’s holiness. They sent one mouse out to test the cat.
老鼠们商讨过后决定测试猫的神圣性。他们派了一只老鼠去测试那只猫。
The mouse came out of the hole but stayed far away from the cat.
老鼠从洞里出来了，但离猫很远。
‘Hello, friend,’ said the cat, and went back to his ‘praying’.
“你好，朋友，”猫说，然后继续他的“祈祷”。
The mouse stayed outside a long time to test the cat. The cat prayed for a long time.
老鼠在外面呆了很久，只为测试猫。猫祈祷了很长时间。
But really, the cat was waiting for other mice to come out. He wanted to eat lots of them.
但实际上，猫是在等其他老鼠出来。他想多吃一些。
But he sat there purring all day, and still there was only one mouse there to test him.
但他整天坐在那里发出咕噜声，仍然只有一只老鼠在那里测试他。
He got hungrier and hungrier. Finally, he could not wait.
他越来越饿了。最后，他实在等不及了。
The cat moved to eat the mouse, but the mouse was ready.
猫跑去吃老鼠，但老鼠早已准备好了。
When the cat moved, the mouse quickly ran into the hole.
猫一动，老鼠就迅速跑进洞里。
‘Why are you running away?’ said the cat. ‘I wanted to give you a friendly hug!
“你为什么要逃跑？”猫说。“我想给你一个友好的拥抱！
You have tested my holiness – did I not pray all day? Have I not learned the Qur’an by heart?’
你已经考验了我的圣洁--我不是整天都在祈祷吗？我不是已经把古兰经背下来了吗？”
‘A sinner can pray all day, but if he sins afterwards, it does not matter,’ said the mouse.
“一个罪人可以整天祈祷，但如果他后来犯了罪，那也无关紧要，”老鼠说。
‘And you may have learned the Qur’an by heart, but you have not unlearned hunting mice.’
“你可能已经背下了古兰经，但你并没有忘记捕杀老鼠。”
The cat moved so quickly that his prayer beads fell off, but he did not catch the mouse.
猫跑得太快了，他的念珠掉了下来，但他没有抓住老鼠。
‘Damn you!’ said the cat.
“该死！”猫说。
The cat returned to the town. But there were no more mice there.
猫回到了镇上。但那里再也没有老鼠了。
So every day the cat had to purr nicely and ask for food from people.
于是，这只猫每天都要发出悦耳的呼噜声，并向人们索要食物。
Sometimes, he tried hunting in the fields, but he never caught another mouse.
有时，他会试着在田野里打猎，但他再也没有抓到过老鼠。
The End
完结
