Once upon a time, a man spread rumors (谣言) that his neighbour was a thief. As a result, the police caught the neighbour and 1 him to the police station for questioning. But in the end, the young man was found to be innocent (无辜的) . He decided, however, to sue (起诉) the man for spreading false rumors.
In court (法庭) , the man said to the judge(法官) : "They were just stories. It was just for fun and my neighbour was not a 2." The judge said to the man: "Write all the things you said about him on a piece of paper. Then cut the paper into many small pieces and, on your way home, 3 the pieces away on the road. I then want you 4 here in court tomorrow to hear my verdict (裁决) ."
Next day in court, the judge said to the man: "5 I give my verdict, I want you to leave the court and, and pick up all the 6 of paper you threw away yesterday." 7, the man said: "I can't do that. The wind has blown the pieces all over the place. I'll never find them!"
"Great," said the judge. "Your mean rumors have spread and harmed the good reputation (名誉) of your neighbour. You may never be able to fix it. If you cannot speak well of someone, don't say 8 at all!"
