86.ZHAO CHUN AND RIVER TURTLE

　　　Once a fishermen in Dantu, Jiangsu caught a huge turtle. He wasn't quite sure what to do with it. He pondered. "It's huge. It must be worth a lot of money. If anybody around here can afford to buy such a big turtle, it has to be Zhao Chun, because he's the richest man in the county."

　　He put the turtle in a cart and took it to Zhao. Zhao took one look and said, "Turtle soup!" He gave the fisherman a good price for the turtle, and from then on, any fisherman who caught a turtle sold it to Zhao. As a matter of fact,catching turtles to sell to Zhao Chun became a local specialty.

　　After about a year of this, Zhao dreamed that he was in the Temple of the Eastern Peak, arguing a case in front of a judge. The plaintiff was fat, with a triangular head. He called himself River Turtle. River Turtle told the divine Emperor of the Eastern Peak, "Zhao Chun has killed too many of us. He should be called to accounts."

　　"Nothing. I just love to eat turtle meat, that's all. What harm can that do? I mean, it's not me that catches them."

　　The Emperor said, "The fishermen are uneducated, so they cannot be expected to understand the way in which killing innocent animals upsets the balance of the universe. You, however, are an educated man. You should know better. If you do not know, you will learn in Hell." The Emperor glared at Zhao. River Turtle nodded.

　　"Zhao Chun!" The Emperor's voice rumbled like thunder. "What do you have to say in your defense?"

　　"Will you mend your ways? We will give you a chance. If from this day hence, you do not kill or cause to be killed any cattle, pig, poultry, dog, turtle, or other animal, but do your utmost to teach others not to kill, you may atone for your crimes.

　　"Does the plaintiff have any comment?"

　　"Your Majesty," River Turtle begged, "Aren't you letting him off a bit too easy? Don't forget how many of my relatives are buried in his stomach."

　　"Yes, it is meet and right that we discipline this man to express the indignation of all living creatures for his barbarous behavior. Bailiffs! Give this man ten strokes with the bamboo poles."

　　Six demons dragged Zhao to the floor and held him there while two others beat him with bamboo poles.

　　When he got up, the Emperor said, "If a person has so much as one good thought, the gods and demons can bring him good fortune. Bad thoughts bring bad luck. If you change your ways, you can earn good luck. If you keep up your old habits, though, you will not be forgiven." Several demons led him out of the temple.

　　Zhao woke up in his own bed. His bottom was bruised and swollen. He had to spend a week in bed before he could get up.

　　He told his whole family what happened to him. From that day, they all became vegetarians. They never ate another animal's carcass. They bought captured animals to set free. Before long, everybody agreed that the Zhaos had changed. Now they were not only the richest people around, but they were also the nicest.

86.赵春和江龟

　　一次江苏丹涂的一个渔夫捉住了一只巨龟。他不知如何处置它。
渔夫想，“这只龟这么大，肯定值不少钱。能买得起它的，也就是赵春，他是县里的首富。”

　　他把乌龟装进了大车，来到赵家。赵春看了一眼，说道，“做成龟汤！”他给了渔夫不少钱，从此以后，只要有渔夫捉到乌龟，都会卖给赵春。实际上，为赵春捉龟似乎成了当地的一种行当。

　　这样过了一年，一天，赵春做了一个梦，他梦见自己来到了东岳庙，正在判官面前辩论着一件案子。告状人很胖，长着一个三角脑袋。他自称叫做江龟。江龟对东岳庙神君说道，“赵春杀死了我的很多同类。你们应该找他算账。”

　　“没什么。我只是爱吃龟肉，仅此而已。那有什么不好吗？我是说，又不是我去捉那些龟的。”

　　神君说道，“那些渔夫没文化，不能期望他们懂得杀生会破坏宇宙规律。可是你，一个读书人，应该知道。如果现在你不懂，等你下了地狱就懂了。”神君瞪着赵春。一旁的江龟不住地点头。

　　“赵春！”神君的声音像打雷一样。“你还有什么要说的吗？”

　　“你愿意改过吗？我们可以给你一个机会。如果从今天开始，你再也不杀或叫人去杀牛、猪、狗、龟、家禽等生灵，并且尽力劝说别人不杀生，你就能消减你的罪业。”

　　“原告还有什么要补充的吗？”

　　“陛下，”江龟申诉道，“您这样岂不是太便宜他了吗？别忘了有多少我的同族葬身于他的肠胃之中啊。”
　　“不错，不惩戒一下他的野蛮行径，便不能平息众生的愤怒。衙役们，将此人重责十下竹杖。”

　　六个小鬼把赵春拉过来按在地上，另两个则用竹杖狠狠地抽了下去。

　　当赵春爬起来时，神君说道，“如果一个人有善念的话，神鬼都会保佑他的。而邪念只会带来厄运。如果你真心改过，你会好运连连。如果你还恶习不改，那就罪不容诛了。”几个小鬼领着赵春出了神庙。

　　这时赵春从梦中醒来。他的臀部又淤又肿。又躺了一个星期才能起床。

　　他告诉了全家人所发生的事。从那天开始，他们都吃素了。他们再也没有吃过一点荤腥。而且他们还买来被捉的动物放生。不久，人们都发现赵家人变了。现在他们不仅是当地最富的人，而且还是最善良的人。