48.百鳥朝鳳 Birds Pay Homage To The King
- BIRDS PAY HOMAGE TO THE KING
“Doctor, will my husband get better?” Mrs. Xie asked.
The doctor shook his head, and said nothing.
Xie had a huge boil on his back, and dozens of small boils all around it.They had tried all sorts of medicines and treatments, but nothing worked.
Doctor Lin said, “This disease cannot be cured by ordinary means. There’s no medicine money can buy that will cure this condition.”
One of the consulting doctors said, “This is a very rare disease. It’s so rare you’ve probably never even heard of it. It’s called Birds Pay Homage to the King. When Mrs. Xie heard that, she screamed and fainted dead away.
Xie was a very rich man. He had begun life as a poor boy, and made a fortune in the lumber business by hard work and honesty. He really didn’t have any bad habits, but he did have one particular weakness, common to many Chinese:he loved to eat. Whenever he had a party or a feast, he spent a lot of money to serve the most extraordinary dishes possible.
His favorite of all was a huge, complicated dish. A big fat duck was slaughtered and cooked, and its stomach was filled with sparrows. The diners opened up the duck’s stomach with their chopsticks, and found the sparrows baked in the duck. This dish was called Birds Pay Homage to the King!
No wonder Mrs. Xie was terrified when she heard what the doctor said! Her husband’s disease was called the same thing as his favorite dish. Over years of feasting, Xie had killed so many birds that he called down this strange ailment on himself.
Anyone who has had a boil knows how painful they are. Xie’s whole back was a big mass of boils. Not only did they hurt, but they also reeked, too. He suffered for months, and finally died. All of his riches couldn’t do anything for him because he had caused too many animals to suffer.
- 百鳥朝鳳
「醫生，我的丈夫會好起來嗎？」謝太太問。
醫生搖搖頭，什麼也沒說。
謝在背上長了一個很大的癤子，這個癤子周圍又有許多小癤子。他試過了很多藥和療法，但是一點效果都沒有。
林醫生說，「用普通的方法是治不好你的病的。用錢能買到的藥，恐怕都治不好你的病。」
一個醫生說，「這種病很少見，你可能聞所未聞。它叫做『百鳥朝鳳』。」謝太太聽到後，尖叫起來，暈死過去了。
謝是一個富人。他白手起家，靠著勤勞誠懇在木材生意上賺了一大筆錢。他沒有什麼惡習，但是他也有一個特別的缺點，像許多中國人一樣：他愛吃。每當舉行宴會或者聚會的時候，他總是花許多錢準備各種奇異的菜。
他最愛吃的是大盤、豐盛的菜。一只大肥鴨被殺掉烹煮了，這只鴨肚里塞滿了麻雀。當食客們用筷子打開鴨肚時，就會看到在鴨肚里煮熟了的麻雀。這道菜就叫做百鳥朝鳳。
所以當謝太太聽到醫生的話時，自然感到恐懼。她丈夫的病名就像他最愛吃的菜名一樣。多年來的宴會上，謝不知道殺了多少只鳥，得了這樣的怪病，是他自作自受。
長過癤子的人都知道那有多疼。謝的背上長滿了癤子。它們不但疼的厲害，還發出陣陣臭味。他煎熬了幾個月，最後死了。他的富有也救不了他，因為他曾經給那麼多動物帶來痛楚。