English Original
Christmas was approaching. Mr. Smith had no money to buy presents for his children. His wife was ill, and he had spent much on her medicine. With a poor harvest, his family faced hunger the coming spring. He was deeply worried.
"We only have a rooster," Mrs. Smith suggested one day. "You should take it to town, sell it, and buy some cakes and sweets for the children."
"That's a good idea!" Mr. Smith agreed. The next morning, he caught the rooster and placed it in a box. The road, covered in thick snow, was difficult to walk. After two hours, tired, he set the box down to rest.
"The air in this box must be stale," he thought to himself. "I'd better let the rooster out for a while, or it might die."
He released the rooster. When he tried to continue his journey, he could no longer catch it.
"How foolish you are!" Mr. Smith shouted angrily. "You can herald the break of day at night, but you cannot find your way to town in the daytime!"
中文翻译
圣诞节快到了。史密斯先生没有钱给孩子们买礼物。他的妻子病了，他为买药花了很多钱。收成也不好，全家人在来年春天都要挨饿。他为此忧心忡忡。
一天，史密斯太太提议道：“我们只剩一只公鸡了。你最好把它带到镇上去卖掉，给孩子们买些蛋糕和糖果。”
“好主意！”史密斯先生赞同道。第二天早上，他抓住公鸡，把它放进一个盒子里。道路被厚厚的积雪覆盖，行走艰难。两小时后，他累了，便把盒子放在地上休息。
“盒子里的空气肯定不流通，”他自言自语道，“我最好让公鸡出来透透气，不然它会死的。”
他把公鸡放了出来。当他准备再次上路时，却再也抓不住它了。
“你真蠢啊！”史密斯先生生气地喊道，“你晚上能报晓，白天却找不到去镇上的路！”