提 要

「騙得了一時，騙不了一世」，工於算計的歹徒，無時無刻都在察言觀色、注意他人的表情、需求，再看準時機行騙。雖然「害人之心不可有 」，也必須提醒自己「防人之心不可無」。

There once lived a cunning and crafty man in a small village. He always used to make money through deceit. "Why should I work when I have the ability to deceive others？" he would think.

One day, the cunning man went to a foolish farmer and said, "I have a huge property that I am not able to take care of. I want to sell some of my land, Would you like to buy it？" The farmer was in need of land, so he said, "Yes, but first I would like to see the land." "Sure!" said the cunning man, and led the farmer to a huge field.

At one end of the field there was a hut and a well. "The hut and well are also for sale," said the cunning man. "But the well is the most expensive of all."

The farmer was surprised and asked, "What is so special about this well？" "It's called SILVER WELL," replied the cunning man, "There is a lot of silver down there."

Then he took the farmer to the well and pulled out a bucketful of silver, which he had arranged for beforehand. "See....." he said, "every time you pull out the bucket, you will get silver like this! That's why this well is the most expensive."

The farmer was thrilled! "If I buy this well, all my financial problems will be solved forever," he thought. Then asked, "How much will it cost？" "The original price is 100 gold coins, but I shall reduce it 75, just for you, my friend!" The foolish farmer felt it wasn't a bad bargain and decided to buy the well. He went home to get the money. The cunning man followed him and waited outside his house.

The farmer's wife was an intelligent woman, "I doubt this story of the SILVER WELL," she said to the farmer. "Before giving away our entire savings, we must seek advice from some wise men of the village."

The farmer agreed. He went to the cunning man and said politely, "Please give me a day's time to arrange for the money. You can come tomorrow morning, I shall keep it ready."

Feeling happy that the farmer was trapped, the cunning man went away. Then, the farmer went to a wise man and asked for his opinion. "SILVER WELL!" the wise man exclaimed. "Tomorrow when the man comes to your house, ask him to give it to you in writing that the silver well belongs to him and that he is selling it to you for 75 gold coins.

If he refuses to write the receipt then tell him that will pay only 10 gold coins. If he is a genuine seller, he will give you the receipt. If he is a crook, he will agree to sell the well for 10 gold coins." Taking the tips from the wise man, the farmer returned home.

The next morning when the cunning man arrived, the farmer said, "I am ready to buy the SILVER WELL, but you must write on a piece of paper that it belongs to you, that it produces silver, and that you are selling it to me for 75 gold coins." Hearing this, the cunning man was alarmed! "Err.....hhh.....I am giving you my word, dear friend! Isn't that enough？" he said.

“All right, if you can’t give to me in writing then I shall pay you only 10 gold coins. Will that be fine？" asked the farmer. "Oh.....ah...why？yes.....sure!" said the cunning man, still happy that he will get at least 10 gold coins.

Now the farmer was sure that the man was trying to deceive him. He caught the cunning man and handed him over to the strong men of the village.

The cunning man got a sound thrashing and was chased out of the village. Never again did he dare to deceive anyone.

解 說

在一個小村莊裡，曾住著一位狡詐的騙徒。他總是用騙術謀取利益。 「我可以唬弄別人賺錢，又何必工作？」他想。

有一天，騙徒找到一個傻農夫說：「我有龐大的財產無法照顧，我想賣掉一些我的土地，你願意買嗎？」農夫正需要地耕作 ，回答說：「好啊，但我想先看看地。」「當然！」騙徒說著，帶農民到了一片廣大的領域。

在土地的盡頭有一間小屋和一口井，「小屋和井也出售，」狡猾的騙徒說： 「但最貴的是那口井。」

農夫好奇地問：「這口井有什麼出奇之處？」「這就是『銀井』，」騙徒說，「下面銀礦豐富。」

然後，他在農民面前，從井裡拉上來一桶銀子，當然那是騙徒事前安排好了的，「看……」他說，「每次你都能從井裡拉上來這樣的滿滿一桶銀子，這就是為什麼這口井最貴！」

農夫非常興奮，「若我買了這口井，我所有的債務問題都解決了。」他想，然後問：「這口井多少錢？」「原價是一百枚金幣，但我可以只收七十五就好了，因為你是我的朋友嘛！」傻農夫覺得不算貴，決定要買。他回家去拿錢時，狡詐的騙徒跟著他，等在他的房子外面。

農夫的妻子是個聰明的女性，「我懷疑這個『銀井』的故事，」她對農夫說，「在花光我們全部的積蓄之前，我們應該徵求村裡智者的意見。」

農夫同意了，他很禮貌地對等在房外的騙徒說：「請給我一天的時間準備錢，你可以明天早上來拿。」

狡猾的騙徒覺得傻農夫上鉤了，歡天喜地答應後走了。接著，農夫去徵求村裡智者的意見。「銀井！」智者聽了以後驚呼，「明天，當那男子來時，請他給你書面證明『銀井』屬於他，而且他以七十五枚金幣的價格賣給你；如果他拒絕寫收據，那就告訴他，你將只願意付十枚金幣。」

「如果他是個正當的生意人，他寫收據給你；如果他是一個騙子，他會同意只收十枚金幣就把『銀井』賣掉。」農夫聽從智者的提示，回家了。

到了第二天早上，農夫對跑來收錢的騙徒說：「我準備好買銀井了，但是必須請你寫白紙黑字，銀井屬於你、而且生產銀子，你用七十五枚金幣的價格賣給我。」聽到這裡，騙徒嚇了一跳！「呃……嗯……我給你口頭保證，親愛的朋友，難道這還不夠嗎？」他說。

「好吧，如果你不能給我收據，那我只能付你十個金幣，這樣行嗎？」農夫問。「ㄟ……啊……有何不可？行！」狡猾的騙徒說，不過依然很高興，因為至少可以騙到十枚金幣。

現在農夫確信了，這名男子試圖欺騙他，一把抓住了狡猾的騙子，把他交給村裡的壯漢。

騙子結結實實地挨了一頓鞭子，被逐出村子。他從此再也不敢欺騙任何人。