Have you ever told anyone a secret? Did they keep your secret? Sometimes when people don't keep secrets we say that they “let the cat out of the bag.”
Many years ago farmers used to sell baby pigs at the market. They would put the baby pigs in large bags or sacks.
Sometimes they would put a cat inside the bag instead and pretend that it was a baby pig. The farmers did this because they could get cats for free and baby pigs cost a lot of money.
PHOTO: AP
Lots of times people didn't check the bag until they got home.
But sometimes someone would open the bag at the market. The angry cat would escape and run around. Then of course everyone would fight because they found out that the farmer had tried to cheat them.
If you let the cat out of the bag the secret you give away might upset someone or cause lots of problems, just like the angry cat at the market!
(Catherine Thomas, Staff Writer)
你告訴過別人祕密嗎?他們替你守密嗎?有時候當人們未守密時,我們可以說他們「let the cat out of the bag」(讓貓咪跑出袋子)。
從前的農夫經常在市場販售小豬,他們將小豬放在大袋子或粗布袋裡。
有時候他們反而會在袋子裡放一隻貓咪,假裝是小豬。農夫這樣做是因為不必花錢就可以取得貓咪,而小豬則要花許多成本。
很多時候,人們回家後才會檢查袋子。
不過,有時候有人會在市場打開袋子。生氣的貓咪會跑出來,到處亂跑。當然,大家可能會扭打成一團,因為他們發現農夫想欺騙他們。
假如你讓貓咪跑出袋子,你洩漏的祕密可能會讓某人難過,或製造許多麻煩,就像市場生氣的貓咪一樣!
(翻譯:賴美君)
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