鲸鱼与蝴蝶

一天黄昏，一个男子和一个妇女不期而遇地同坐一辆驿站马车旅行。他们以前见过面。

那男子是个诗人，他坐在那妇女的身边，设法讲故事给她消遣，有的故事是他自己创作的，有的可不是。

然而，就在他讲着故事的时候，那位夫人竟睡着了。接着，马车突然晃荡，那位夫人醒了，她说："我真欣赏你所描摹的约拿和鲸鱼的故事。"

诗人接口道："然而，夫人，我刚才在讲给你听的故事是我自己创作的，说的是一只蝴蝶和一朵白玫瑰花，以及它们怎样的彼此以礼相待。"

The Whale And The Butterfly

Once on an evening a man and a woman found themselves together in a stagecoach. They had met before.

The man was a poet, and as he sat beside the woman he sought to amuse her with stories, some that were of his own weaving, and some that were not his own.

But even while he was speaking the lady went to sleep. Then suddenly the coach lurched, and she awoke, and she said, "I admire your interpretation of the story of Jonah and the whale."

And the poet said, "But Madame, I have been telling you a story of mine own about a butterfly and a white rose, and how they behaved the one to the other!"