English Original
A man was about to go on a long journey. He instructed his servant, "Keep an eye on the gate and look after the donkey."
After the master left, the servant heard music playing nearby. Unable to resist, he wanted to go listen. Feeling uneasy about leaving his post, he tied the gate to the donkey's back and had it carry the gate all the way to the performance.
With the servant gone, all the valuables in the house were stolen. When the master returned, he asked, "Where are my valuables?" The servant replied, "Master, you only told me to watch over the gate and the donkey with the leash. Apart from them, I know nothing about the whereabouts of your things."
The master declared, "I left you here to guard the gate precisely to protect my valuables. Now that all my valuables are gone, what good is the gate?"
中文翻译
有一个人即将出远门。他吩咐仆人说：“看好大门，并照看好驴子。”
主人走后，仆人听到附近有音乐声。他按捺不住，想去听一听。又因擅离职守而感到不安，于是他将大门绑在驴背上，让驴驮着门一路来到了演奏现场。
仆人离开后，屋里的所有财物都被盗了。主人回来后问道：“我的财宝去哪儿了？”仆人回答说：“主人，您只吩咐我看好用绳子拴着的门和驴子。除了这两样，我完全不知道您的东西在哪儿。”
主人说道：“我让你守门，正是为了保护我的财物。现在我的财物全丢了，要门还有什么用呢？”