27. THE GOAT'S TONGUE

　　The Tang dynasty from 618 to 907 AD was one of the great eras of Chinese history. In the capital lived one Pan Guo, whose skill as a martial artist earned him a post in the government offices when he was still very young. He was easy to get along with, so he made many friends among the other young men working there.

　　One day, a group of them was walking along by a cemetery. Among the tombs, Pan spotted a goat that a shepherd had forgotten. The goat was minding its own business, eating the grass. Pan and his friends surrounded it and dragged it off towards home. The goat started bleating. They were afraid the shepherd would hear and come after his goat, so Pan reached in and pulled out the goat's tongue by the roots. He was proud of his quick wits.
　　
　　After they got home, they slaughtered the goat and roasted it. They washed it down with a lot of wine and had a good time.　　

　　In the following year, Pan was horrified to discover his tongue shrinking. As it got shorter and shorter, Pan lost his speech. He couldn't carry out his official duties, so he quit his job. He had to find some way to cure his tongue.
　
　　His boss, Zheng Yuqing, suspected Pan was just being lazy, so he ordered him to open his mouth to prove whether or not he was really sick. He was surprised to see that Pan's tongue had already disappeared. All that was left was a little stub at the root. He demanded to know what had happened. Pan took up a brush and wrote, "It must be because a bunch of us were stealing a goat last year,and when the goat started bleating, I ripped its tongue out."
　
　　Zheng Yuqing knew that Pan lost his tongue to balance the tongue he took from the goat. He ordered his subordinates to carry out Buddhist services to bring the goat fortune to compensate for its loss. He told Pan to copy the Lotus Sutra.　

　　Pan was sorry for what he had done. He swore never again to eat the flesh of an animal, and to do his best to bring the goat fortune through good deeds, dharma services, and prayers.　

　　After a year, his tongue began to grow back.　　

　　When he found his tongue was growing back, Pan was thrilled. He ran to the office to report to Zheng. Zheng was proud of Pan for his determination to correct his mistake. When he could speak normally again, he promoted him. Zheng Yuqing was so honest and wise that people always praised him. The word of his good deeds reached the Emperor TaiZong, one of the best emperors in Chinese history, and in the 9th year of his reign, 635 AD, Zheng Yuqing was promoted to the post of Imperial Censor, one of the highest positions in the Empire.

　　Zheng told the Emperor that perhaps he won his promotion to balance the fortune he had won for the goat that lost its tongue.

27. 羊舌头

　　唐代(公元618－907)是中国历史上最伟大的王朝之一。在都城里住着一位潘国(名字待议)，他是一位武术高手，这使他很年轻的时候就在官府里谋得一个职位。他为人随和，结交了许多与他一起工作的年轻朋友。

　　一天，他们一伙人从一个坟墓边走过。在那些坟墓中，潘看到了一只羊，肯定是被牧羊人遗忘在那的。那只羊只顾着吃草。潘和他的朋友们包围了那只羊，并且 把它向家里拖去。那只羊开始叫起来。他们害怕被牧羊人听到跟了来，于是潘伸手把羊的舌头连根拔掉了。他觉得他自己真是聪明极了。

　　他们回家后，杀了那头羊并烤熟了它。他们就着酒吃了羊肉，快乐无比。

　　第二年，潘惊惧地发现他的舌头在缩短。它越来越短，最后潘就说不出话来了。他不能正常工作了，只好辞职。他想方设法地想治好舌头。

　　他的上司，郑余庆，怀疑其实是潘懒惰，所以他命令他张开嘴巴，想看看他是否真的病了。他惊恐地发现潘地舌头已经消失了，只在舌根的地方剩下一点点残 余。他想知道这究竟是怎么回事。潘于是拿起笔，写道：“这一定是因为我们一伙人去年偷了一只羊，当那只羊开始叫唤的时候，我拔掉了它的舌头。”

　　郑余庆明白了，潘失去了他的舌头是因为他要补偿他拔掉的羊的舌头。他于是让属下去超度那只羊，还让潘抄写法华经。

　　潘为他的所作所为感到内疚。他发誓不再吃肉了，而且要尽量以做好事、做佛事及持诵佛号的方式，将功德回向那只羊。

　　一年后，他的舌头长回来了。
　
　　当他发现他的舌头长回来以后，潘惊得发抖。他赶紧跑到官府里去报告郑。郑很赞许潘改正错误的决心。当潘能正常说话后，郑提拔了他。郑余庆是那么的正直 英明，人们都称赞他。对他的赞美传到了唐太宗的耳里，唐太宗是中国历史上最好的皇帝之一，在他登基后的第9年(公元635年)，郑余庆被提拔当了御史，这 是唐代最高的职位之一。

　　郑告诉皇帝，这可能是因为他为了那只失去舌头的羊做功德而得到的福报。