At an exhibition of the world’s best swordsmen, the third-place fencer took the stage.
在一次世界一流剑手比赛中，第三名击剑手上了擂台。
A fly was released, and with an arc of his sword he cut the fly in half.一只苍蝇被放了出去，只见剑光闪过，他将那只苍蝇一劈两半。
The crowd cheered. Then the second-place man sliced a fly into quarters.
观众齐声喝彩。随后，第二名击剑手将一只苍蝇斩成了四瓣。
A hush fell in anticipation of the world’s greatest swordsman.
人群静下来，期待着世界上最伟大的击剑手。
His blade came down in a mighty arc—but the insect continued on its way!
他的剑以极大的弧度砍了下来——而那只苍蝇仍在向前飞！
The crowd was aghast. The greatest swordsman had missed his target completely, yet he continued to smile.
人群骚动了起来。最伟大的击剑手完全失去了目标，但他仍面带笑容。
“Why are you so happy?” someone yelled. “You missed!”
“你为什么那样高兴？”有人大声问道，“你没击中目标！”
“Ah,” replied the swordsman, “you weren’t watching very carefully. The fly lives, yes—but he will never be a father.”
“啊，”那名击剑手回答说，“你没有非常仔细地观察。那只苍蝇的确还活着——但它再也当不成爸爸了。”
