(单词翻译:单击)
Cats and Secrets
猫与秘密
In English, there is a common idiom:"let the cat out of the bag!"
在英语中，有一个常见的习语:“let the cat out of the bag!”
It means to tell a secret.
它的意思是透露秘密。
But where did this idiom start?
但是这个习语是从哪里开始的呢?
It came from a part of England.
它来自英格兰的一个地方。
Long ago, people there went from town to town to sell things like vegetables, clothes, and pigs.
很久以前，那里的人们会从一个城镇到另一个城镇去卖蔬菜、衣服和猪之类的东西。
They had strong beliefs about honesty.
他们对诚实有着强烈的信念。
They didn't like lying.
他们不喜欢说谎。
One day, a man went to the town's center to sell things.
一天，一个人去镇中心卖东西。
"I have a baby pig for sale! It won't cost much," he said.
“我有一头小猪要卖! 不需要很多钱的。”他说。
He held the animal above his head.
他把那只动物举过头顶。
His style was different from honest people's style.
他的风格不同于老实人的风格。
He was a master of tricking people and lying.
他是一个善于欺骗和说谎的大师。
A woman named Beth looked at his pig.
一个叫贝丝的女人看着他的猪。
He offered her the pig for one gold coin.
他想用猪换一枚金币。
That was a very small amount.
这是一个非常小的数目。
Beth gave him the coin.
贝丝把金币给了他。
He put it in his pocket.
他把它放在口袋里。
He walked ahead of Beth to get the pig.
然后走在贝丝前面去取猪。
He gave her a closed bag and said,"Here’s your pig."
他给了她一个紧闭的袋子，说:“这是你的猪。”
He then left very quickly.
然后他很快离开了。
Beth looked at the bag.
贝丝看了看袋子。
It was moving.
它在动。
She opened it to let the pig out.
她打开想把猪放出来。
A cat was inside!
结果发现里面是一只猫!
"He tricked me! That isn't proper," she said.
“他骗了我! 这是不对的。”她说。
Later, the man returned to trick more people.
后来，这个人又回来想骗更多的人。
Beth saw him,and the memory of the cat came back.
贝丝看见了他，想起了那只猫。
She told her friends.
她告诉了她的朋友。
They stopped him.
他们拦住了他。
But no one knew what to do next.
但没人知道接下来该怎么办。
Someone said,"We need an independent and fair person to decide that."
有人说:“我们需要一个独立公正的人来决定。”
They went to the judge.
他们去找了法官。
Beth told him about the cat in the bag.
贝丝告诉他关于袋子里的猫的故事。
The judge asked,"Is there evidence? Can you demonstrate how he did it?"
法官问:“有证据吗? 你能演示一下他是怎么做的吗?”
"Look in his bag,"said Beth.
“看他的包里，”贝丝说。
She opened it and let a cat out of the bag.
她打开包，把一只猫从包里放了出来。
They learned the man's secret, and he went to jail.
他们知道了这个人的秘密，把他送进了监狱。
That's how the idiom"let the cat out of the bag"came to mean to tell a secret.
这就是“let the cat out of the bag”这个习语的由来，意思是泄露秘密。
