in the past, there was a man named ai zi who was fond of sailing on the sea.
one night, ai zi had his boat moored1 near a small island around midnight, he seemed to hear someone weeping or talking under the water. so he listened intently, and soon he heard someone say: "yesterday the * king issued an order that all living creatures with tails in water are to be beheaded. i am an alligator2 and have a tail. i am very frightened of being slaughtered3, so i am crying. you are a toad4 and don't have a tail. what are you weeping for?"
after a while, ai zi seemed to hear someone answer: "though i have no tail now, i am afraid that i may be traced back to the time when i was a tadpole5 with a tail then, so i am weeping."
从前，有个叫艾子的人，喜欢在海上航行。
一天晚上，船停泊在一个小岛的附近。大约半夜时分，他仿佛听到水底下有人发出哭泣的声音，又好像有人在说话。于是，他认认真真地听了下去。一会儿，他听到有人说：“昨天龙王下了命令，水中的动物，凡是有尾巴的都必须斩首。我是鳄，有尾巴，非常害怕遭到*戮，所以哭了起来。你是*，又没有尾巴，哭什么呀?”
一会儿，他仿佛又听到有人回答说：“我现在虽然没有尾巴，但是我害怕会追究到我蝌蚪年代的事情上去，因为那时候我是有尾巴的，所以哭泣。”
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