King Lion's Bed
The Lion was very old, and he found it very difficult to sleep on a bed made of stone. It made his body ache all over, and he could not resist the cold. So he called to the council all the nobles who had soft fine hair or coarse long hair, like the wolves and bears.
"Dear friends," said the lion, "now that I am old, this stone bed is too hard. Will you be so kind as to give me some fur so that I can make a soft cushion? I am sick and tired of sleeping on flagstones."
"Lord Lion," answered all the nobles, "of course we are all happy to honor you, let alone give you any hair, but we will gladly give you our skin. But there are plenty of animals with fur like us. Look at those antelopes, goats, and fawn, they usually don't pay any taxes ah! I think you can ask for it from them. To them, your Majesty will respect them by asking them to pay tribute. They will be very happy!"
The Lion thought their proposal very clever, and he could not find a word to praise their cleverness. But how does their loyalty translate into action?
These nobles caught many poor beasts, plucked all their hair and skinned them. Although the nobles themselves had twice as much fur to give, their loyalty did not cost them a hair. On the contrary, they fish in troubled waters, and every nobleman still takes a tribute, and gets himself a cushion against the winter cold.
We should pursue our own interests in a proper way and not at the expense of others.
狮子大王的床
狮子大王上了年纪，它觉得睡在石头做的床上真是难受极了，总是把自己的身体弄得浑身酸疼，还抵御不了寒冷。于是，它召集了所有长着一身柔软的细毛或粗糙的长毛的贵族，像那些狼啊、熊啊，来参加会议。
狮子说：“亲爱的朋友们，现在我年纪大了，这石头做的床实在是太硬了。你们能不能积点德，分给我一点皮毛，好让我做一张柔软的垫子。睡在石板上，我实在厌恶透了。”
“狮子大王，” 贵族们一齐答道，“我们当然都很乐意孝敬您，别说是一点毛了，就是要我们的皮，们也是很乐意给您的啊。不过，像我们这样长着一身皮毛的动物可多了。你看那些羚羊、山羊，还有小鹿，它们平时可都不交什么税啊！我觉得您大可以向它们索取啊，对于它们来说，大王让它们来纳贡，就是瞧得起它们，它们一定会很乐意的！”
狮子大王觉得它们的提议很高明，它简直找不到一个合适的词来赞赏它们的聪明。可是它们的忠诚又怎样见之于行动呢？
这些贵族捉住了许多可怜的野兽，拔光它们的毛，剥掉它们的皮。虽然贵族们自己有双倍的皮毛可以贡献出来，但它们的忠诚并没有损及自个儿一根毫毛。正好相反，它们浑水摸鱼，每一个贵族都照样捞了一份贡品，都给自己弄到了冬天御寒的垫子。
我们追求自己的利益，要有适当的方法，不能建立在损害别人利益的基础之上。
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