吹牛的旅行者 The Boasting Traveler

 

    A MAN who had traveled in foreign lands boasted very much, on returning to his own country, of the many wonderful and heroic feats he had performed in the different places he had visited.  Among other things, he said that when he was at Rhodes he had leaped to such a distance that no man of his day could leap anywhere near him as to that, there were in Rhodes many persons  who saw him do it and whom he could call as witnesses.  One of  the bystanders interrupted him, saying:  "Now, my good man, if  this be all true there is no need of witnesses.  Suppose this  to be Rhodes, and leap for us." 
 

    有个运动员因平常参加比赛时缺乏勇气，被人们指责，只好出外去旅行。过了些日子，他回来后，大肆吹嘘说，他在别的很多城市多次参加竞赛，勇气超人，在罗德岛曾跳得很远，连奥林匹克的冠军都不能与他抗衡。他还说那些当时在场观看的人们若能到这里来，就可以给他作证。这时，旁边的一个人对他说：“喂，朋友，如果这一切是真的，根本不需要什么证明人。你把这里当作是罗德岛，你跳吧！”

    这故事说明，用事实容易就近证明的事，说得再多都是多余的。