A miller had three sons, and when he died he left them nothing but his mill, his donkey, and his cat.
有个磨坊主生了三个儿子。他死后，留给三个儿子的遗产只有磨坊、驴和猫。
The sons didn't send for a lawyer, because they knew their whole legacy would have gone for fees.
三个儿子没有请律师，因为他们知道，要是请了律师，他们就会花光所有的遗产。
But it didn't take them long to decide who should get what.
没过多久，他们就把遗产分配好了。
The eldest got the mill, the second got the donkey, and nothing was left for the youngest but the cat.
大儿子分到了磨坊，二儿子分到了驴，留给小儿子的只有一只猫。
He wan't very happy about it.
小儿子因此很不高兴。
"My brothers will be able to work together and make a decent living," he said. "But once I've eaten my cat and made a muff out of the fur, I'm sure to starve."
“我的两个哥哥可以一起干活，过上体面的生活。”他说，“可是我呢，等我吃掉猫肉，再用猫皮做副手套之后，就会饿死。”