A CERTAIN poor widow had one solitary Sheep. At shearing time, wishing to take his fleece and to avoid expense, she sheared him herself, but used the shears so unskillfully that with the fleece she sheared the flesh. —
有一个贫穷的寡妇只有一只孤独的绵羊。到了剪毛的时候，她想亲自给它剪毛以避免花费，但她使用剪刀技巧不娴熟，将绵羊的肉一同剪到了。 —

The Sheep, writhing with pain, said, “Why do you hurt me so, Mistress? —
绵羊因疼痛而扭动着说：“主人，你为什么要这样伤害我？ —

What weight can my blood add to the wool? —
我的血能给羊毛增加多少重量呢？ —

If you want my flesh, there is the butcher, who will kill me in an instant; —
如果你想要我的肉，那儿有个屠夫，他会立刻把我杀死； —

but if you want my fleece and wool, there is the shearer, who will shear and not hurt me.”
但如果你只是想要我的羊毛和毛皮，那儿有个剪羊毛的人，他会剪毛而不伤害我。”

The least outlay is not always the greatest gain.
最小的支出并不总是最大的收益。