幾個小偷悄悄地潛入一戶人家裏，可是房間裏除了公雞，什麼也沒有。小偷隻好把公雞偷走了。公雞見小偷們要取他的性命，就央求他們手下留情： “請你們饒了我吧！我是對人類有益的，我每天都不辭辛勞地準時喚醒你們去工作。 ”可是，小偷聽了他的話更加氣憤了，說道： “正因為如此，我才把你捆起來。你正是把人們喚醒，阻止我們偷竊的 ‘罪魁禍首 ’啊！ ”
凡是對好人有益的事情，總會引起別有居心的人的敵視和仇恨。
Some Thieves broke into a house and found nothing but a they stole，and got off as fast as they could. Up at home they prepared to kill the Cock，who thus pleaded for his life，“Pray spare me；I am very serviehem up io their work.”“That is the very reasohe more kill you，” they replied；“for when you wake yhbors，you e ao our business.”
The safeguards of virtue are hateful to those with evil iions.