English Original
One night, a hotel caught fire, and the guests ran out in their nightclothes.
Two men stood outside watching the flames.
"Before I came out," said one, "I ran into some rooms and found a lot of money. People don't think about money when they're afraid. If anyone leaves paper money in a fire, it burns. So I took all the bills I could find. No one will be poorer because I took them."
"You don't know my work," said the other.
"What is your work?"
"I'm a policeman."
"Oh!" cried the first man. Thinking quickly, he said, "And do you know my work?"
"No," said the policeman.
"I'm a writer. I'm always telling stories about things that never happened."
中文翻译
一天晚上，一家旅馆失火，住客们穿着睡衣跑了出来。
两个男人站在外面看着大火。
"在我出来之前，"其中一人说，"我跑进几个房间，找到了很多钱。人在害怕时是不会想到钱的。如果有人把纸币留在火里，它就会被烧掉。所以我把能找到的钞票都拿走了。没有人会因为我的行为而变得更穷。"
"你不知道我是做什么的，"另一个人说。
"你是做什么的？"
"我是警察。"
"噢！"第一个人喊道。他灵机一动，问道："那你知道我是做什么的吗？"
"不知道，"警察说。
"我是个作家。我总是编造一些从未发生过的故事。"