A farmer saw an old man he knew planting something on the other side of the river.
一个农民看到他认识的一位老人正在对岸种什么东西。
The farmer called to him, “What are you planting, Granddad?”
那个农民对他大声喊道：“老大爷，你种的是什么？”
The old man did not speak for a moment, then said, “Swim over, and I’ll tell you.”
老人沉默了一会儿，说：“你游过来，我就告诉你。”
The farmer did not like the idea of swimming across the river. But he did want to know what the old man was doing. He swam over. The old man whispered in his ear, “I’m planting peas in my garden.”
那个农民不太愿游过去，但他又想知道老人种的是什么东西，于是就游过了河。老人俯在他的耳边低声说：“我在园子里种豌豆。”
“Then why was it necessary for me to swim across the river. You could have shouted; I would have heard quite clearly on that side of the river.”
“那你为什么必须要我游过河呢？你本来可以大声说，我在河那边听得很清楚。”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t do that. The sparrows would have heard me and eaten up my peas.”
“噢，不，我不能那样做。那样的话，麻雀会听到，它们会把我的豌豆都吃光的。”
