An old man told everyone in his village that his young neighbour was a thief(小偷). As a result, the young man was taken to police station. Days later, the man was set free(释放), as the police found that he hadn't stolen(偷窃) anything.
After going home, the young man sued(起诉) the old man for calling him a thief.
In court (法庭) , the old man told the judge(法官), “They were just words. They didn't harm anyone. ” The judge told the old man, “Write down all the things you said about him on a piece of paper. Cut up (切碎) the paper and on your way home, throw the pieces of paper on the ground. Tomorrow, come back here to hear your sentence(判决). ”
The next day, the judge told the old man, “Before hearing your sentence, you will have to go out and find all the pieces of paper that you threw on the ground yesterday. ”
The old man said, “I can't do that! The wind blew(吹) them away and I won't know where to find them. ”
The judge then said, “In the same way, the simple words can ruin (破坏) a man's image(形象) . If you can't speak well of someone, don't say anything at all. ”
Let's all be masters of (控制) our mouths so that we won't be slaves(奴隶) of our words.
