二、牛刀斷舌
從前，江蘇常熟縣黃草堂的地方，有一位以屠宰耕牛為職業的須某，
2. The Butcher’s Knife Severed His Own Tongue
Long ago, in Huang-cao-tang of Chang-shu County, Jiang-su,
二、牛刀斷舌
他每次殺牛，必先將牛舌活活割下，牛慘痛哀鳴，須某卻都無動於衷。每次把牛宰完了，就將牛舌帶回家中，烹煮下酒食用，以為這樣味道特別鮮美。
這一天，須某將屠刀安放在門檻上方，忽然聽到兩隻老鼠，在門檻上打架，須某好奇的仰臉張口往上看，那知道兩隻老鼠將屠刀弄落，正好落入須某的口中，而且剛好割斷了他的舌頭，當場死亡。
唉！須某一生嗜殺成性，割牛舌佐酒，貪著口福，不料自己也被牛刀斷舌慘死。看起來因果報應，並非是虛構之言！
2. The Butcher’s Knife Severed His Own Tongue
there lived a butcher Mr. Xu. His job was to slaughter the cows which ploughed the fields. Everytime, before he slaughtered a cow, he would cut off its tongue and the poor animal would scream in pain under such extreme torture. But Mr. Xu was not bothered by this. After slaughtering the cow, he would take the tongue home, cook it and eat it with wine. He felt that it was especially delicious eating it this way.
One day, Mr. Xu put his knife on top of the door frame. Suddenly he heard two rats fighting up there. He looked up inquisitively with his mouth agape. And who on earth would have expected that the knife which was pushed down by the rats, would fall right into Mr. Xu’s mouth and sever his tongue. He died instantly.
Oh dear! Mr. Xu, who was extremely brutal and who enjoyed drinking wine and eating cows’ tongues, was finally killed by his own knife. The corresponding rewards or retributions in the working of cause and effect are indeed true and are not just concocted by somebody.