English Original
There is a village with several households in a wild land. Nobody from the village would go near the crossroads after midnight. Everyone said the place was haunted, and many claimed to have seen a white, one-eyed woman figure there, accompanied by a large black cat.
One night, Tom and Mick were in the village pub. They were discussing the ghost. "I don't believe in ghosts," said Tom with a smile. "I bet you won't go to the crossroads alone after midnight," challenged Mick.
Tom laughed and replied, "I'll go if you will." So, the two men agreed to meet at the crossroads at midnight.
Tom decided to play a trick on Mick. He arrived just before midnight, covered his face and hair with flour from a bag, and waited. It was a very dark and quiet night. As the village clock struck twelve, a shrill bird cry pierced the darkness, chilling the blood. Then he heard Mick calling, "Tom, are you there?" Tom remained silent, sitting perfectly still on a stone, struggling not to laugh.
When Mick came close enough to see Tom's flour-covered face, he took one look, screamed, and ran off down the road. Tom laughed so hard he fell off the stone.
Early the next day, Tom went to Mick's house. Mick was in the kitchen, having locked all doors and windows. A shotgun lay on the table. He looked tired and frightened, having stayed up all night.
"Well," said Tom, trying not to laugh, "did you see the ghost last night?"
"Oh yes," whispered Mick, "I saw her as plain as day."
"You fool!" Tom exclaimed. "That was me you saw sitting on the stone!"
"Oh yes," said Mick, "I saw you on the stone. And I also saw that evil one-eyed witch with her cat, standing right behind you."
Upon hearing this, Tom's face went quite white, as if someone had dusted it with flour again.
中文翻译
荒野之中有一个几户人家的小村庄。午夜过后，村里没人敢靠近十字路口。人人都说那里闹鬼，许多人声称曾在那里看到一个白色的、独眼的女人身影，身边还跟着一只大黑猫。
一天晚上，汤姆和米克在村里的酒吧喝酒。他们谈论着十字路口的幽灵。"我不相信有鬼，"汤姆微笑着说。"我打赌你不敢在午夜后独自去十字路口，"米克挑衅道。
汤姆大笑着回答："你去我就去。"于是，两人约定午夜在十字路口见面。
汤姆决定捉弄米克。他在午夜前赶到十字路口，用一袋面粉涂满了自己的脸和头发，然后开始等待。那是一个漆黑寂静的夜晚。当村里的钟敲响十二点时，一声尖厉的鸟鸣划破黑暗，令人毛骨悚然。接着，他听到米克在喊："汤姆，你在那儿吗？"汤姆没有作声。他坐在一块石头上，一动不动，强忍着不笑出来。
当米克走近，看清汤姆那张涂满面粉的脸时，他看了一眼，便尖叫着沿路逃跑了。汤姆笑得前仰后合，从石头上摔了下来。
第二天一早，汤姆去了米克家。米克在厨房里，锁好了所有的门窗。桌上放着一把猎枪。他看起来疲惫又惊恐，一夜未眠。
"怎么样，"汤姆强忍着笑问道，"昨晚你看到鬼了吗？"
"哦，看到了，"米克低声说，"我看得一清二楚。"
"你这个傻瓜！"汤姆喊道。"你看到的是我，我坐在路口的石头上！"
"哦，是的，"米克说，"我看到你在石头上了。我还看到了那个邪恶的独眼女巫和她的猫，就站在你身后。"
听到这话，汤姆的脸色变得煞白，仿佛又有人在他脸上扑了一层面粉。