An old woman having lost the use of her eyes, called in a physician to heal them, and made this bargain with him in the presence of witnesses: that if he should cure her blindness, he should receive from her a sum of money; but if her infirmity remained, she should give him nothing. This agreement being made, the physician, time after time, applied the salve to her eyes, and on every visit took something away, stealing all her property little by little.
And when he had got all she had, he healed her and demanded the promised payment. The old woman, when she recovered her sight and saw none of her goods in her house, would give him nothing. The physician insisted on his claim, and as she still refused, summoned her before the Judge.
The old woman, standing up in the Court, argued, “This man here speaks the truth in what he says; for I did promise to give him a sum of money if I should recover my sight: but if I continued blind, I was to give him nothing. Now he declares that I am healed. I on the contrary affirm that I am still blind; but before I lost the use of my eyes, I saw in my house various chattels and valuable goods. But now, though he swears I am cured of my blindness, I am not able to see a single thing in it.”
一位老太太眼睛不中用了，就叫来一个医生给她治疗。当着几个见证人的面，老太太跟医生讲起了条件：要是医生治好了眼盲，她就给人家一笔钱；要是症状不能消除，医生什么也得不到。双方说定之后，每次医生来给老太太的眼睛上药，都从她家偷走一些东西，老人家的财产就这样一点一点被偷了个精光。
医生得到了老太太的全部财产之后，他也治好了老人家的病，开始索要起了讲好的报酬。老太太恢复视力后，发现自家东西被洗劫一空，说什么也不给医生钱。医生坚持要钱，对方不给，医生就把她叫到了法官面前。
老人站在法庭上，申辩说：“这人说的是实话，我的确答应过要是恢复了视力就给他一笔钱，可如果我还是看不见的话，他就一毛钱也拿不着。现在他非说我的眼睛好了，可我很确定我还是看不见。失明之前，我看得见家里的家当和值钱玩意儿，可现在他信誓旦旦地说治好了我的眼盲，我倒一个子儿也看不见了。”
-infirmity [ɪnˈfɜːmətɪ] n. 体弱
-salve [sælv] n. 药膏
-chattel [ˈtʃætl] n. 动产，财产
英语国家有谚语云：“Greedy folks have long arms.”( 心贪手长。)