English Original
In ancient times, a man surnamed Dong in the State of Wei was interested in nothing but keeping cats.
He kept over one hundred cats in his home, which caught and ate all the rats in the house.
Later, with no rats left, the cats grew hungry and meowed constantly. Dong had to buy meat daily from the market to feed them.
Day after day, year after year, the cats multiplied. Accustomed to a daily diet of meat, they forgot that rats could be caught and eaten. They meowed when hungry and were promptly fed. Once full, they became happy, carefree, lazy, and sluggish, with nothing to do all day.
In the south of the city, one household was plagued by rats. The rodents ran amuck in swarms. Once, a rat fell into a jar. The master of the house hurried to Dong's home to borrow a cat.
The cat from the Dong family saw the rat in the jar: its pointed ears erect, pitch-black eyes staring, red whiskers shaking as it squeaked. The cat, unsure what this creature was, merely followed the rat's movements around the jar's mouth, not daring to enter.
Furious, the master pushed the cat into the jar. Panic-stricken, the cat howled loudly at the rat. After a while, the rat realized this cat had no other tricks and bit its foot. Terrified, the Dong family cat mustered all its strength, leaped out of the jar, and fled.
中文翻译
古代，卫国有个姓东的人，对万事万物都不感兴趣，唯独爱好养猫。
他在家里养了一百多只猫，把老鼠捕食得一干二净。
后来，老鼠绝迹，猫饿得不停叫唤。东某只好每天从市场买肉来喂养它们。
日复一日，年复一年，猫儿繁衍。由于天天吃肉，它们竟不知世上还有老鼠可捕。饿了就叫，一叫便有肉吃。吃饱后，便是一副悠闲快乐、懒散迟钝的样子，终日无所事事。
城南有一户人家鼠患成灾，老鼠成群结队，横行肆虐。一次，一只老鼠掉进了瓮中。主人急忙跑到东家借猫。
东家的猫看到瓮中的老鼠竖着尖尖的耳朵，瞪着漆黑的眼睛，抖动着红胡须吱吱乱叫。猫不知这是何物，只在瓮口跟着老鼠转来转去，不敢下去。
主人大为恼火，一把将猫推了下去。猫顿时惊恐万状，对着老鼠大声嚎叫。过了一会儿，老鼠发觉这只猫别无他技，便去咬它的脚。东家的猫吓得用尽全力，一跃而出，逃走了。