I was travelling on a British ship from India to London in 1905. Among all the passengers, no one would fail to notice Padishah, an Indian businessman. From the moment he got on the ship, he kept showing off the diamond on his turban. The big diamond successfully attracted attention, including that of the five ostriches on the deck.
1905年，我乘坐一艘英国船从印度前往伦敦。在所有乘客中，没有人会注意不到印度商人帕迪沙。从他上船的那一刻起，他就一直在炫耀头巾上的钻石。这颗大钻石成功地吸引了人们的注意，包括甲板上的五只鸵鸟。
One morning, as Padishah passed by the ostriches, one swallowed his diamond suddenly. The bird ran around and mixed itself with the others in no time.
一天早晨，当帕迪沙经过鸵鸟时，其中一只突然吞下了他的钻石。那只鸵鸟跑来跑去，很快就和其他鸵鸟混在了一起。
“Whose are these stupid ostriches? I want my diamond back!” Padishah shouted angrily. People began to crowd on the deck. I was among the first to arrive. I didn’t feel half sorry for the man as he was asking everyone what to do for the diamond’s return.
“这些愚蠢的鸵鸟是谁的？我要回我的钻石！”帕迪沙愤怒地喊道。人们开始聚集在甲板上。我是第一个到达的。我一点也不为这个人感到难过，因为他问每个人该为钻石的归还做些什么。
Word swept across the ship about the accident, reaching a man named Potter. After lunch in the hall, Potter went to Padishah and claimed, “I’ve contacted the ostriches’ owner in London. He accepted my offer for all five and now I am the owner. I have the right to keep the birds and the diamond inside.” I thought Potter was rather smart and regretted deeply at a lost chance.
这件事情传遍了整艘船，传到了一个名叫波特的人那里。在大厅吃过午饭后，波特去找了帕迪沙，并声称：“我已经联系了伦敦鸵鸟的主人。他接受了我对五只鸵鸟的报价，现在我是主人。我有权把鸟和钻石放在里面。”我认为波特很聪明，对失去的机会深感遗憾。
Padishah was so upset and blurted, “There’s no way you can get my diamond,” he continued as he got calmer. “I can offer you 100 pounds for the birds.” Potter simply refused and left.
帕迪沙非常沮丧，脱口而出：“你不能拿我的钻石，”他平静下来后继续说道。“我可以给你100英镑买这些鸟。”波特简单拒绝了，然后离开。
After a while, Potter came back to the hall with a sly smile. He announced that he wanted to sell four birds separately to separate people by auction*. The starting price was 80 for a bird. One of them, he would keep for himself.
过了一会儿，波特带着狡黠的微笑回到大厅。他宣布，他想通过拍卖将四只鸟分别出售给不同的人。一只鸟的起价是80英镑。其中一个，他会留给自己。
Before the crowd realised what was happening, a diamond businessman got one bird for 100 pounds. The prices for the following birds rose higher and higher. After the fourth being sold, Padishah got half mad, not knowing what to do. Potter seemed suddenly sorry and said, “I should have kept them all. But... Trust me! The last bird must be the one.”
在人群意识到发生了什么之前，一位钻石商人以100英镑买了一只鸵鸟。剩余鸵鸟的价格越来越高。第四只鸵鸟被卖掉后，帕迪沙已经半疯，不知道该怎么办。波特似乎突然很抱歉，说：“我本应该把它们都留下的。但是……相信我！最后一只鸟一定是那只。”
I stared at the last bird for quite a while and asked Potter for a private conversation. After a long talk, I finally got the bird for 700 pounds. What a great deal it was!
我盯着最后一只鸵鸟看了好一会儿，然后请波特私下谈谈。经过长时间的交谈，我终于以700英镑的价格买到了这只鸵鸟。真是了不起！
The next morning, I was waiting in line to get off the ship, picturing the amazing future life in mind. Then, I saw Padishah and Potter walk arm in arm on the shore, just like old friends. At that moment, I learnt a lesson worth a diamond.
第二天早上，我排队下船，脑海中浮现出美好的未来生活。然后，我看到帕迪沙和波特手挽手地走在岸边，就像老朋友一样。那一刻，我学到了一个非常宝贵的教训。
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