隽永英文小故事 (19)

The Man and Apollo

There once lived a Man in a village. He was very cunning and often cheated the villagers. He did not believe in God and thought he was cleverer than God.

One day, the Man went to the temple of Apollo.

He called all the villagers to the temple. He said to them, “I will prove that I am much more intelligent than Apollo.”

The Man had a plan. He took a silver ring coated with gold paint with him. He held out the ring in his hand and said, “Oh, Apollo, if you are a God, then tell me what I hold in my hand…silver or gold?”

The Man thought if Apollo said “silver” he would not do anything, but, if he said “gold,” he would quickly wipe off the paint. Apollo could answer anyway he liked. It would be the wrong answer.

The mighty, all-knowing Apollo understood his trick.

He thundered, “Show me the ring now I know that it is of silver and painted gold. You dare to challenge the Gods! Your tricks will lead you to misfortune. If you displease the Gods, they will make you very unhappy!”

It is foolish to challenge God.