The Complacent Rats
故事全文
There was once a man in Yongzhou. As he was born in the year of the rat, he loved rats. He did not allow anyone in his house to catch or harm them, neither did he allow cats and dogs in his home. Though the rats stole his food, and chewed holes in his things, he never got angry at them. And so, the number of rats in his house grew. In the end, all his clothes and furniture had holes in them, and everything he ate had been nibbled before by the rats. Throughout the day, the rats would run around his house and squeak loudly. No one was able to sleep properly with all the noise they made. It seemed that the rats were the actual masters of the house.
After a few years, the family moved elsewhere, and the house had a new owner. But the rats did not know that the owner had changed. They continued to squeak loudly and chew holes everywhere. The new owner of the house was furious, and he borrowed five or six cats to catch the rats. He also sealed off the rat holes and flooded the nests with water. Many rats drowned, and their bodies piled up like a small mountain.
From then on, rats were never seen in the house again.
