English Original
A clergyman came upon a group of boys, about ten years old, gathered around a stray dog. Concerned they might be mistreating the animal, he approached and asked what they were doing.
One boy explained, "This is an old neighborhood stray. We sometimes take him home, but only one of us can each day. So we're having a contest: whoever tells the biggest lie gets to take him home today."
The Reverend was shocked. "You boys shouldn't be having a contest telling lies!" he exclaimed. He then launched into a ten-minute sermon against lying, concluding with, "Why, when I was your age, I never told a lie."
There was a minute of complete silence. As the Reverend smiled, satisfied he had gotten through to them, the smallest boy sighed deeply and said, "All right, give him the dog."
中文翻译
一位牧师遇到一群大约十岁的男孩围着一只流浪狗。担心他们可能虐待动物，他走上前去询问他们在做什么。
一个男孩解释说：“这是附近的一只老流浪狗。我们有时会带它回家，但每天只能有一个人带。所以我们正在比赛：今天谁说了最大的谎，谁就能带它回家。”
牧师感到震惊。“你们这些孩子不应该比赛说谎！”他大声说道。接着，他发表了十分钟反对说谎的布道，最后总结道：“唉，我在你们这个年纪时，可从来没说过谎。”
接下来是整整一分钟的沉默。当牧师满意地微笑着，以为自己的话打动了他们时，最小的男孩深深叹了口气，说道：“好吧，把狗给他吧。”