English Original
The great Confucian scholar Ji Xiaolan (1724-1805) recorded this story.
A magnificent boat reached the shore. The people there were surprised to see at a window a middle-aged lady, dressed in the splendid attire of a member of an official household, crying her eyes out.
One of them whispered, "Isn't that the lady of His Honor?"
"Yes it is, but what could possibly happen to make someone in such an exalted position so sad?"
Her servants on the boat were trying to figure out the same thing. Finally, her old wet nurse got the story out of her. Her Ladyship had dreamed that her little daughter, who had died so young, had been tied up with red bands and was going to be killed. She cried to her mother to save her. It was so sad that Her Ladyship woke up with a start.
But the dream didn't seem to end there. She was awake, but she thought she could still hear her poor little daughter crying. The sound seemed to be coming from that boat over there.
The wet nurse went over to investigate. When she reached the other boat, the first thing she saw was a pool of blood! A butcher was slaughtering a piglet there. The piglet screeched. When the wet nurse came on board, it struggled and twisted. It was a horrible sight. Its feet were tied with red bands, just like in Her Ladyship's dream!
It was too late to save that piglet, but Her Ladyship bought it anyway, and gave it a decent burial on the shore.
When it was all over, there was a lot of talk about this weird event. It seems that His Honor's daughter had been sweet and intelligent. She had no bad habits to speak of, but she did love chicken. She couldn't eat a meal without at least one plate of chicken. In one year, at least seven or eight hundred chickens would meet their deaths in order to satisfy her appetite. By the time of her unfortunate death at the tender age of 16, she was responsible for the deaths of thousands of chickens.
Who can escape a blood debt that runs into the thousands?
中文翻译
清代大儒纪晓岚（1724-1805）记载了这样一个故事。
一艘华丽的船靠了岸。岸上的人们惊讶地看到，船窗边有一位身着官家华服的中年妇人，正哭得伤心欲绝。
其中一人低语道：“那不是某位大人的夫人吗？”
“正是。可究竟发生了什么，能让如此尊贵的人这般悲伤？”
船上的仆人们也在琢磨同样的问题。最后，她的老奶妈问出了缘由。夫人梦见自己早夭的小女儿被红绳捆绑，即将被杀。女儿哭喊着向母亲求救。夫人悲痛欲绝，猛然惊醒。
然而，梦境似乎并未结束。她虽已醒来，却仿佛仍能听见可怜小女儿的哭声。那声音似乎来自不远处的一艘船。
奶妈过去查看。当她登上那艘船，首先映入眼帘的竟是一滩鲜血！一个屠夫正在宰杀一头小猪。小猪尖声惨叫。奶妈上船时，它拼命挣扎扭动，场面骇人。它的四蹄正被红绳捆绑着，与夫人梦中所见一模一样！
为时已晚，已救不了那头小猪，但夫人还是将它买下，并在岸边妥善安葬。
此事过后，人们对此奇事议论纷纷。原来，那位大人的女儿生前聪慧可爱，并无其他恶习，唯独酷爱吃鸡。她每餐必有一盘鸡肉。一年下来，为满足她的口腹之欲，至少有七八百只鸡丧命。到她十六岁不幸早夭时，已有数千只鸡因她而死。
欠下数千条生命的血债，谁能逃脱呢？