The Lion, the Wolf, and the Fox

　　Years ago while attending a dinner party hosted by some friends of mine the hostess served a meal with this delicious mushroom sauce. After the meal there was a small amount left over and the hostess decided1 to allow her pregnant cat to enjoy the treat as well as the guests. The guests all felt it was a great gesture and showed the cat was a member of the family.

　　The sauce was the highlight of the evening's topic of conversation, everyone commented on how delicious it was, and the hostess beamed at all the compliments. One of the guest commented that toadstools were much like mushrooms except for being toxic2, and how funny it would be if such a culinary treat were made from that instead.

　　As if on cue, the pet cat started crying and squirming on the floor, clutching its belly3. The hostess exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's the mushroom sauce!"

　　We all went to the emergency room in a mad rush, and had our stomachers pumped after telling them we had eaten poisonous mushrooms. This was an extremely unpleasant experience.

　　We got back, the cat was lying on the floor peacefully looking up at us, and had given birth to kittens.

　　多年前，我参加了一个朋友组织的晚餐聚会，女主人拿出她亲手做的美味的蘑菇沙司来款待我们。 晚饭过后，还剩下一些沙司，因此女主人决定让她那怀孕的猫也像客人们一样享受这美味。在座的客人都感觉，这个伟大的举动表明这只猫就仿佛是家里的一员一样。

　　沙司成为最受欢迎的话题，大家都说沙司简直太美味了。因为受到夸奖，女主人露出了微笑。其中一个客人说伞菌像极了蘑菇，只是有毒而已，假如用它来款待大家，那简直是太可笑了。

　　仿佛有了暗示一样，那只宠物猫开始在地板上又叫又滚，并且不停地挠自己的肚子。女主人说道：“噢，我的上帝啊，它刚吃了蘑菇沙司呀！”

　　我们所有的人立即赶往急诊室，并告诉医生我们吃了毒蘑菇。我们都被洗了胃。这可真是一次令人感觉沮丧的经历。

　　从医院回来以后，那只猫平静地躺在地板上望着我们，它生小猫了！