A VERY POOR MAN, a Carpenter by trade, had a wooden image of Mercury, before which he made offerings day by day, and begged the idol to make him rich, but in spite of his entreaties he became poorer and poorer. —-
一个非常贫穷的木工，行乞着向他几乎日复一日地向他的木制墨丘利像献祭，祈求它让他变得富有，但尽管他的恳求，他变得越来越穷。 —-

At last, being very angry, he took his image down from its pedestal and dashed it against the wall. —-
最后，非常愤怒的他从基座上拿下了木像，砸向了墙壁。 —-

When its head was knocked off, out came a stream of gold, which the Carpenter quickly picked up and said, “Well, I think thou art altogether contradictory and unreasonable; —-
当木像的头被打破时，金子从中涌出，木工迅速捡起来说：“好吧，我觉得你完全是矛盾和不合理的； —-

for when I paid you honor, I reaped no benefits: —-
因为当我尊敬你时，我没有得到任何好处： —-

but now that I maltreat you I am loaded with an abundance of riches.”
但是现在我虐待你后，我被财富所拥有。”