One day an old man poured himself a glass of milk. He set it aside on the table, and then went away for a few minutes to get something. While he was gone, a small mouse climbed onto the table and drank the milk.

When the old man returned he caught the mouse, and as a punishment he cut off the animal’s tail. The mouse begged him: “Please give me back my tail!” But the old man answered, “When you replace the milk you stole, I’ll give you your tail.” The mouse asked, “But where can I get milk?” The old man replied, “Go to the cow.”

The little mouse went to see the cow. He said, “Cow, please give me some milk. The milk I’ll give to the old man, and the old man will give me back my tail.” The cow answered, “If you want me to give you milk, you’ll have to get me some hay first. Go to the field and ask it for some hay.”

The mouse went to the field. He said, “Field, please give me some hay. The hay I’ll give to the cow. The cow will then give me milk. The milk I’ll give to the old man, and the old man will give me back my tail.” The field answered, “If you want my hay, first you’ll have to get me some water. Go to the well and ask it for some water.”

The mouse approached the well. He said, “Well, please give me some water. The water I’ll give to the field. The field will give me hay. The hay I’ll give to the cow. The cow will then give me milk. The milk I’ll give to the old man, and the old man will give me back my tail.” The well replied, “If you want some water, first get a mason to repair my broken bricks.”

The mouse went to the mason. He said, “Mason, please repair the well. The well will then give me water. The water I’ll give to the field. The field will give me hay. The hay I’ll give to the cow. The cow will then give me milk. The milk I’ll give to the old man, and the old man will give me back my tail.” The mason replied, “If you want me to work for you, first get me some eggs for my breakfast. Go to the hen for some eggs.”

The mouse went to the hen. He said, “Hen, please give me some eggs. The eggs I’ll give to the mason. The mason will repair the well. The well will give me water. The water I’ll give to the field. The field will give me hay. The hay I’ll give to the cow. The cow will then give me milk. The milk I’ll give to the old man, and the old man will give me back my tail.” The hen answered, “If you want me to give you some eggs, first you’ll have to get me some grain to eat. Go to the farmer and ask him for some grain.”

The mouse went to the farmer. He said, “Farmer, please give me some grain. The grain I’ll give to the hen. The hen will give me some eggs. The eggs I’ll give to the mason. The mason will repair the well. The well will give me water. The water I’ll give to the field. The field will give me hay. The hay I’ll give to the cow. The cow will then give me milk. The milk I’ll give to the old man, and the old man will give me back my tail.”

The farmer replied, “I’ll give you grain, but first you must help me fix the roof of my barn. I’ll putting hot tar and shingles on it. If you help me with the work, I’ll give you the grain.”

The mouse agreed, and he and the farmer climbed up on to the barn roof to repair it. But the roof was slippery, and after a little while the mouse lost his footing and fell off, right into the vat of hot, boiling tar. He gave a few pitiful squeaks, and burned to death.

                                                         --Sicilian folktale

恩，故事讲完了。神话故事的课上面那个教授讲的故事，说是源自西西里传说。当时他问我们，听了这个故事你想到什么？当时下面的学生说，

“不能偷别人的东西。”还有人说，

“不管你想要得到什么，都要先付出代价。”教授说，都对，都有道理，可是呢，还有一个更可怕的答案。大家都沉默了。

答案就是，"这只老鼠到底是谁呢？"

原来，这只老鼠就是你自己啊。

是你，是我，是他。

是有些过于悲观了。人生下来就为着各种各样的东西奋斗。小的时候努力学习，为了进一个好大学。进了好大学为了找个好工作。找个好工作为了多挣钱。挣多了钱又为好生活。好生活又到处锻炼身体保持好健康……到最后人终有一死。发现什么呢？原来自己一生追逐的只是一条老鼠的尾巴，一个永远离自己咫尺可永远追不到的老鼠尾巴。只希望在那煮沸的沥青锅里面，可怜的老鼠不要死得太惨。（。。。）