| 摘 要： | ONCE upon a time, there was a poor man who had himself a hut. Because he had little money he had the roof made of a thin layer of poor quality straw matting. One night a thief came. He mounted the roof to see if there was any chance of getting into the house. But the straw mats could not stand his weight and he went right through the roof and fell onto the poor man, who was sound asleep. The thief was annoyed, and went to the King first timing in the morning. "Your Majesty," he said to the King, "I am a thief who knows my job very well. But last night I couldn't steal anything. Instead, I broke my leg." The King sent for the poor man immediately. "It's true, your Majesty," said the poor man when he arrived. "Then you must be sent to the gallows," announced the King, and ordered the gallows to be readied at once. Seeing what a fool the King was, the poor man cried, "I'm innocent, Your Majesty. It is the hut-builder who is guilty, because he didn't build the roof strong enough."
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