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The Cynic Traveler - Diogenes

(Aesop’s Fables)

Translation　ちいさな翻訳屋さん

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　Diogenes was a Greek philosopher who was good at making shrewd and cynic remarks.


　One day, when he was walking on his trip, he came across a river bank.

　The river was almost flooded.

　He was at a loss, and kept standing at the bank.

　In the meantime, there was a man who lived near the river and assisted travelers by carrying them across the river for a living.

　He saw Diogenes who looked at a complete loss, so he approached Diogenes and

　put him on the shoulder.

　The man kindly carried Diogenes across the river.

　After carried across the river safely, Diogenes wanted to reward the man somehow,

　but he could not come up with anything because he was too poor.

”Oh, if I were not too poor, I could reward this man without any restraint.”

　He said to himself, and started to ponder,

”How can I show my appreciation to him?”

　While he was pondering,

　the man found another traveler on the other side of the bank, and approached him.

　The man put the traveler on the shoulder, and carried him across the river in the same way.

　Seeing the man help the traveler, Diogenes approached the man and said,

”I don't feel like rewarding you anymore.

　I thought you did good to me because you noticed I was Diogenes.

　However, you just did what you did because it's your hobby.”


　This story tells us that

　people who do good to whoever they are tend to be recognized as weird people

　rather than to be appreciated as kind people.

The end

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