English Original
One day, the great painter Hogarth was commissioned to paint a picture of Pharaoh crossing the Red Sea. Shortly after the work began, a hitch arose over the fee, and Hogarth found he would have to complete the commission for about half his expected sum.
When the painting was finished, the patron was invited to inspect it. In reality, the picture was just one daub of brilliant red.
"What's this?" exclaimed the purchaser. "I asked for the Red Sea on the occasion of its celebrated passage."
"That's it," replied Hogarth.
"But where are the Israelites?"
"They are all gone over."
"Where are the Egyptians?"
"They're all drowned."
中文翻译
一天，伟大的画家霍加斯受委托创作一幅法老渡红海的画作。工作开始后不久，酬金方面就出现了问题，霍加斯发现他完成这幅委托画只能得到预期报酬的大约一半。
画作完成后，主顾被请来鉴赏。实际上，这幅画不过是一大片胡乱涂抹的鲜红色。
“这是什么？”买主喊道。“我要的是那次著名渡海事件中的红海。”
“这就是，”霍加斯回答。
“可是以色列人在哪儿？”
“他们都已经渡过去了。”
“埃及人在哪儿？”
“他们全都淹死了。”