English Original
A thrifty and industrious widow had two servants whom she kept very busy. She never allowed them to sleep late. As soon as the rooster crowed each morning, the old woman would rouse them and set them to work.
The servants deeply resented having to rise so early, especially in winter. They reasoned that if the rooster did not wake their mistress at such an ungodly hour, they could sleep longer. So, they caught the bird and wrung its neck.
However, they were unprepared for the consequences. Without the rooster's crow to signal the usual time, their mistress, fearing she might oversleep, began waking them even earlier—in the middle of the night—and putting them to work.
中文翻译
一位节俭而勤劳的寡妇有两个仆人，她让他们非常忙碌，从不允许他们睡懒觉。每天早晨公鸡一打鸣，老妇人就会叫醒他们去干活。
仆人们非常讨厌这么早起床，尤其是在冬天。他们推断，如果不是公鸡在那么早的时候叫醒女主人，他们就能多睡一会儿。于是，他们捉住公鸡，拧断了它的脖子。
然而，他们并未料到后果。由于听不到公鸡惯常的啼鸣，女主人担心自己会睡过头，反而开始更早地叫醒他们——在半夜里——就让他们去干活了。