古代寓言原是民间口头创作，文学体裁的一种。含有讽喻或明显教训意义的故事。它的结构简短。主人公可以是人，可以是动物，也可以是无生物。多借用比喻手法，使富有教训意义的主题或深刻的道理在简单的故事中体现，而还需要自己去理解，思考，这就是和西方寓言的不同之处。

《古代寓言·与我无关》

又有医者，自称善外科。一裨将阵回，中流矢，深入膜内延使治。

乃持并州剪匕去矢管，跪而请谢。

裨将曰：“簇在膜内者须亟治。”

医曰：“此内科事，不意并责我。”

——《雪涛小说》

Nothing to Do with me

A surgeon once boasted about his ability. A soldier, returning from battle with an arrow penetrating his leg, came to him for treatment.

The surgeon took a pair of sharp scissors and cut off the stem of the arrow close to the flesh, then asked for pay.

"But you haven't taken out the head of the arrow," complained the soldier.

"That's an internal matter. That's a physician's business, not mine," was the reply.

Stories by Xue Tao

（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）

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