Shen Wenbao lived near the great lake Taihu. He was very kind. His whole family was gentle and kind. They released trapped animals whenever they could.

　　沈文寶住在太湖邊。他是一個善良的人。他全家人都仁慈有禮，總是盡力解救被困的動物。

　　Have you released those birds I bought from the hunters this noon? Shen asked his wife.

　　你把我中午從獵人那里買來的鳥都放走了嗎?沈問他妻子。

　　Yes， Ive let them all go， she answered.

　　是，我把它們全放走了。她回答。

　　Thats wonderful， Shen said. Now they are free to fly wherever they please.They can fly in the sky or rest on a branch in the forest. Just thinking about it made Shen so happy that he beamed.

　　很好，沈說，現在它們自由了，想去哪里都可以。它們可以在天空翱翔，也可以在林子里的樹枝上棲息。一想到這些沈就開心得微笑起來。

　　Most of the people in the area trapped and fished. Only the Shens were different. When their neighbors， caught some animals， the Shens always bought as many as they could and released them. Their neighbors thought for sure that the Shens were out of their minds. Why waste good money on a bunch of birds? What good can it possibly do?

　　這個地區的人們有設陷阱和漁獵的習慣。只有沈家與眾不同。當他們的鄰居們捕回動物后，沈家總是盡量買下它們來放生。鄰居們認為他們都是瘋子。為一群鳥浪費錢，不知他們為什么這么做!能得到什么好處?

　　Theyre just simple minded， thats all. This is what most of the neighbors said.

　　他們是傻瓜。鄰居們說得最多的就是這句話。

　　But one night， when everybody had gone to sleep except Old Man Li， who had insomnia， he heard voices in the street. When he looked out， he was so scared he fell over.

　　一天晚上，除了有失眠癥的李大爺外，所有人都熟睡了。他聽到街上傳來奇怪的響聲。他往外一看，嚇得摔了一跤。

　　In the street， he saw two demons bringing an epidemic. Now， of course， we say germs bring epidemics. Maybe a germ is one kind of a demon. At any rate， germs are frightening to think about， and these demons Old Man Li saw sure were frightening to look at! In their hands， they carried dozens of little flags.

　　他看到街上有兩個魔鬼帶來了瘟疫。現在我們都知道，瘟疫是細菌造成的。但是細菌也許也可以看成是一種魔鬼。無論如何，細菌是很可怕的，李大爺看到的魔鬼看上去也很可怕。在他們手里，拿著許多小旗子。

　　One of the demons said， One flag for each house， right?

　　一個魔鬼問，一家一面旗是嗎?

　　Thats right， said the other demon， But not that house there. Thats the Shens house. They have released lots and lots of captured animals， so we cant do anything to them.

　　對，另一個魔鬼說，但是那一家不要插。那是沈家。他們放了許多被抓的動物，所以我們不能對他們怎么樣。

　　Within days， a terrible epidemic swept through the Taihu district. In less than a week， over half of the people there were dead.

　　幾天后，一場可怕的瘟疫席卷了太湖地區。在一周內，超過一半以上的人都死了。

　　But the odd thing was that nobody in the Shen family got even a bit sick. His neighbors then knew that a good heart can earn good rewards. Shen Wenbao lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully， without any suffering.

　　奇怪的是沈家沒有一個人得病。他的鄰居們這時候才知道好心有好報。沈文寶活到了很老，安詳死去，沒有一點痛苦。

　　Shen Wenbao lived near the great lake Taihu. He was very kind. His whole family was gentle and kind. They released trapped animals whenever they could.

　　沈文寶住在太湖邊。他是一個善良的人。他全家人都仁慈有禮，總是盡力解救被困的動物。

　　Have you released those birds I bought from the hunters this noon? Shen asked his wife.

　　你把我中午從獵人那里買來的鳥都放走了嗎?沈問他妻子。

　　Yes， Ive let them all go， she answered.

　　是，我把它們全放走了。她回答。

　　Thats wonderful， Shen said. Now they are free to fly wherever they please.They can fly in the sky or rest on a branch in the forest. Just thinking about it made Shen so happy that he beamed.

　　很好，沈說，現在它們自由了，想去哪里都可以。它們可以在天空翱翔，也可以在林子里的樹枝上棲息。一想到這些沈就開心得微笑起來。

　　Most of the people in the area trapped and fished. Only the Shens were different. When their neighbors， caught some animals， the Shens always bought as many as they could and released them. Their neighbors thought for sure that the Shens were out of their minds. Why waste good money on a bunch of birds? What good can it possibly do?

　　這個地區的人們有設陷阱和漁獵的習慣。只有沈家與眾不同。當他們的鄰居們捕回動物后，沈家總是盡量買下它們來放生。鄰居們認為他們都是瘋子。為一群鳥浪費錢，不知他們為什么這么做!能得到什么好處?

　　Theyre just simple minded， thats all. This is what most of the neighbors said.

　　他們是傻瓜。鄰居們說得最多的就是這句話。

　　But one night， when everybody had gone to sleep except Old Man Li， who had insomnia， he heard voices in the street. When he looked out， he was so scared he fell over.

　　一天晚上，除了有失眠癥的李大爺外，所有人都熟睡了。他聽到街上傳來奇怪的響聲。他往外一看，嚇得摔了一跤。

　　In the street， he saw two demons bringing an epidemic. Now， of course， we say germs bring epidemics. Maybe a germ is one kind of a demon. At any rate， germs are frightening to think about， and these demons Old Man Li saw sure were frightening to look at! In their hands， they carried dozens of little flags.

　　他看到街上有兩個魔鬼帶來了瘟疫。現在我們都知道，瘟疫是細菌造成的。但是細菌也許也可以看成是一種魔鬼。無論如何，細菌是很可怕的，李大爺看到的魔鬼看上去也很可怕。在他們手里，拿著許多小旗子。

　　One of the demons said， One flag for each house， right?

　　一個魔鬼問，一家一面旗是嗎?

　　Thats right， said the other demon， But not that house there. Thats the Shens house. They have released lots and lots of captured animals， so we cant do anything to them.

　　對，另一個魔鬼說，但是那一家不要插。那是沈家。他們放了許多被抓的動物，所以我們不能對他們怎么樣。

　　Within days， a terrible epidemic swept through the Taihu district. In less than a week， over half of the people there were dead.

　　幾天后，一場可怕的瘟疫席卷了太湖地區。在一周內，超過一半以上的人都死了。

　　But the odd thing was that nobody in the Shen family got even a bit sick. His neighbors then knew that a good heart can earn good rewards. Shen Wenbao lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully， without any suffering.

　　奇怪的是沈家沒有一個人得病。他的鄰居們這時候才知道好心有好報。沈文寶活到了很老，安詳死去，沒有一點痛苦。