英语小故事

英语小故事 《一》 A clever rabbit The wolf and the fox wanted to eat the rabbit, but it wasn't easy to catch him. One day the wolf said to the fox, "You go home and lie in bed. I'll tell the rabbit that you are dead. When he comes to look at you, you can jump up and catch him." That's a good idea," said the fox. He went home at once. The wolf went to the rabbit's house and knocked at the door. "Who is it?" asked the rabbit. "It's the wolf. I've come to tell you that the fox is dead." Then the wolf went away. The rabbit went to the fox's house. He looked in through the window and saw the fox lying in bed with his eyes closed. He thought, "Is the fox really dead or is he pretending to be dead? If he's not dead, he'll catch me when I go near him." so he said, "The wolf says that the fox is dead. But he doesn't look like a dead fox. The mouth of a dead fox is always open." When the fox heard this, he thought, "I'll show him that I'm dead." So he opened his mouth. The rabbit knew that the fox wasn't dead, and he ran as quickly as he could. 狼和狐狸想要吃掉兔子，但是这只兔子太难抓到了。 一天，狼对狐狸说:“你回家假装躺在床上。我去告诉兔子你已经死了。当他来看你的时 候，你就可以跳起来抓住他了。”“真是个好主意～”狐狸说。 于是他立刻回到家。狼去兔子的房前敲了敲门，“是谁啊,”兔子问道。“狼，我是来告诉 你狐狸已经死了。”说完狼就走开了。 兔子去狐狸家看情况。他通过狐狸家的窗户看到闭着眼睛的狐狸躺在床上。他想，狐狸 是真的死了，还是在假装呢,如果他没有死，那么我走近他就会被他抓住。于是他说:“狼 说狐狸死了。但是他看起来并不像死掉了呀。死去的狐狸通常都是张着嘴的。”狐狸听到这 些话就想:我得自己是真的死了。于是他张开了嘴巴。 这时兔子知道狐狸并没有死，他就以最快的速度跑开啦。 这篇英语故事告诉我们:不要被假象迷惑，凡事多多求证才能防患于未然 《二》 Fox and cock One morning a fox sees a cock.He think,"This is my breakfast.'' He comes up to the cock and says,"I know you can sing very well.Can you sing for me?''The cock is glad.He closes his eyes and begins to sing.The fox sees that and caches him in his mouth and carries him away. The people in the field see the fox.They cry,"Look,look!The fox is carrying the cock away.''The cock says to the fox,"Mr Fox,do you understand?The people say you are carrying their cock away.Tell them it is yours.Not theirs.'' The fox opens his mouth ang says,"The cock is mine,not yours.''Just then the cock runs away from the fox and flies into the tree. 狐狸和公鸡 一天早上，一只狐狸看到了一只公鸡。他想:这是我的早餐。 他朝公鸡走来，对他说:“我知道，你能唱得非常好听，你能唱给我听么,”公鸡 很高兴。他闭上眼睛开始唱歌。狐狸看到这些抓住它放到自己的嘴里走了。 在田地里的人们看到了狐狸。大喊大叫:“看，看～狐狸抓住公鸡逃走了。”公鸡 对狐狸说:“狐狸先生，你能理解么,人们认为你叼走了公鸡。告诉他们这是你 的，不是他们的。” 狐狸张开她的嘴说:“公鸡是我的，不是你们的。”就在那时，。公鸡跑到了树底 下。 《三》 The Old Cat An old woman had a cat. The cat was very old; she could not run quickly, and she could not bite, because she was so old. One day the old cat saw a mouse; she jumped and caught the mouse. But she could not bite it; so the mouse got out of her mouth and ran away, because the cat could not bite it. Then the old woman became very angry because the cat had not killed the mouse. She began to hit the cat. The cat said, "Do not hit your old servant. I have worked for you for many years, and I would work for you still, but I am too old. Do not be unkind to the old, but remember what good work the old did when they were young." 【译文】 老猫 一位老妇有只猫，这只猫很老，它跑不快了，也咬不了东西，因为它年纪太大了。 一天，老猫发现一只老鼠，它跳过去抓这只老鼠，然而，它咬不住这只老鼠。因 此，老鼠从它的嘴边溜掉了，因为老猫咬不了它。 于是，老妇很生气，因为老猫没有把老鼠咬死。她开始打这只猫，猫说:“不要 打你的老仆人，我已经为你服务了很多年，而且还愿意为你效劳，但是，我实在 太老了，对年纪大的不要这么无情，要记住老年人在年青时所做过的有益的事 情。” 《四》 《A poor pig 》 Danny is a little pig . He is unhappy because he wants to leave home to see the world . It‟s a sunny day . Danny goes away when his parents are sleeping . on his way he meets an elephant , a peacock (孔雀)and a rabbit . At last , he gets to a lake . He looks at his reflection in the water and says, “I wish I have an elephant‟s nose , a peacock‟s tail and a rabbit‟s ears .” after a while , Danny‟s wish comes true . He runs back excitedly . But his parents can‟t recognize Danny , “Go away , you‟re not our son .” Danny goes to the lake again . “ I just want to be a pig .” He says sadly .Danny waits and waits . He becomes a pig again . Danny runs back quickly . His parents hug and say , “ This is our lovely baby .” 《五》 One day,a little monkey is playing by the well. He looks in the well and shouts : “Oh!My god!The moon has fallen into the well!” An older monkeys runs over, takes a look,and says, “Goodness me!The moon is really in the water!” And olderly monkey comes over。He is very surprised as well and cries out: “The moon is in the well.” A group of monkeys run over to the well . They look at the moon in the well and shout: “The moon did fall into the well!Come on!Let‟get it out!” Then,the oldest monkey hangs on the tree up side down ,with his feet on the branch. And he pulls the next monkey‟s feet with his hands. All the other monkeys follow his suit, And they join each other one by one down to the moon in the well. Just before they reach the moon,the oldest monkey raises his head and happens to see the moon in the sky, He yells excitedly “Don‟t be so foolish!The moon is still in the sky!” 【译文】 《猴子捞月》 一天，有只小猴子在井边玩儿。它往井里一瞧，高喊道:“噢～我的天～月亮掉 到井里头啦～” 一只大猴子跑来一看，说，“糟啦～月亮掉在井里头啦～” 老猴子 也跑过来。他也非常惊奇，喊道:“糟了，月亮掉在井里头了～” 一群猴子跑到 井边来，他们看到井里的月亮，喊道:“月亮掉在井里头啦～快来～让我们把它 捞起来～” 然后，老猴子倒挂在大树上，拉住大猴子的脚，其他的猴子一个个跟 着，它们一只连着一只直到井里。正好他们摸到月亮的时候，老猴子抬头发现月 亮挂在天上呢它兴奋地大叫:“别蠢了～月亮还好好地挂在天上呢～” 《六》 Once upon a time, there were four mice that lived in a wall in the field. Summer was coming, and so the mice came out of the wall to collect berries (干果仁), nuts, corn and straw(稻草). Everyone was working very hard, day and night. Everyone was working very hard, except, Frederick. “Why aren‟t you working, Frederick?” his friends asked him. “oh, but I am.” Frederick told them. “I‟m collecting the sunshine for the cold, dark winter.” A few days later his friends asked him again “why aren‟t you working, Frederick?” “Oh, but I am.” Frederick told them. “I‟m collecting colors for the long, grey winter.” A few days later his friends asked him again “why aren‟t you working, Frederick?” “Oh, but I am.” Frederick told them. “I‟m collecting words for the long, quiet winter.” Soon, the first snow came, and the four mice went back into the wall. They ate their berries and they ate their nuts and they ate their corn and they ate their straw. But time passed, and time passed, and soon there were no more berries, and soon there were no more nuts and soon there were no more corn and soon there were no more straw. Now the winter was cold and dark, long and quiet. The mice were sad and hungry. Then they remembered Frederick. “Hey, Frederick, can you show us what you collected for the winter.” “Ok,” said Frederick, “close your eyes. Here is my sunshine for the cold, dark winter.” And Frederick began to tell his friends some stories, and the mice to feel warmer and warmer. “Great, Frederick! How about the colors and the words?” “Ok,” said Frederick, “close your eyes” and he told them about the blue skies, and he told them about the red poppies, and he told them about the green grass, and he told them about the purple berries, and he told them about the yellow corn of summer. “That‟s wonderful, Frederick, thank you.” Said the mice. “We‟ve learned something about you”, they told him. 《七》 The City Mouse and the Country Mouse Once there were two mice. They were friends. One mouse lived in the country; the other mouse lived in the city. After many years the Country mouse saw the City mouse; he said, "Do come and see me at my house in the country." So the City mouse went. The City mouse said, "This food is not good, and your house is not good. Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have nice food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city." The Country mouse went to the house of the City mouse. It was a very good house. Nice food was set ready for them to eat. But just as they began to eat they heard a great noise. The City mouse cried, " Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They ran away quickly and hid. After some time they came out. When they came out, the Country mouse said, "I do not like living in the city. I like living in my hole in the field. For it is nicer to be poor and happy, than to be rich and afraid." 【译文】 城里老鼠和乡下老鼠 从前，有两只老鼠，它们是好朋友。一只老鼠居住在乡村，另一只住在城里。很 多年以后，乡下老鼠碰到城里老鼠，它说:“你一定要来我乡下的家看看。”于是， 城里老鼠就去了。乡下老鼠领着它到了一块田地上它自己的家里。它把所有最精 美食物都找出来给城里老鼠。城里老鼠说:“这东西不好吃，你的家也不好，你 为什么住在田野的地洞里呢,你应该搬到城里去住，你能住上用石头造的漂亮房 子，还会吃上美味佳肴，你应该到我城里的家看看。” 乡下老鼠就到城里老鼠的家去。房子十分漂亮，好吃的东西也为他们摆好了。可 是正当他们要开始吃的时候，听见很大的一阵响声，城里的老鼠叫喊起来:“快 跑～快跑～猫来了～”他们飞快地跑开躲藏起来。 过了一会儿，他们出来了。当他们出来时，乡下老鼠说:“我不喜欢住在城里， 我喜欢住在田野我的洞里。因为这样虽然贫穷但是快乐自在，比起虽然富有却要 过着提心吊胆的生活来说，要好些。” 《八》 Three Butterflies There were once three beautiful butterflies in the gargen . One was red , One was yellow and third was white. Every day the three were dancing and playing together in the gargen and they were very happy. One day they were playing in the garden again. when suddenly it began to rain, they flew to a red flower and said to the red flower. "Red flower we're caught in the rain, our wings are wet and we're so cold. So would you please let us stay under your petals?" The red flower said to red butterfly . "You have the same color as me , so you can come in you two can't." The butterflies siad together "we're good friends and we'll never part, we come together and leave together." It's raining harder They flew to the yellow flower The yellow flower said to the yellow butterfly "You have the same color whit me so you can come you two can't" The butterflies said together "We're good friends and we'll never part ,we come together and leave together." To the white flower again The same thing happened And again the butterflies said together "We're good friends and we'll never part, we come together and leave together." The three butterflies were flying in the rain They could find a place to take shelter from the rain But none would like to leave their friends Then the sun saw them from the clouds He drove away the clouds and at once the rain stopped It was sunny again The three butterflies' wings became dry in the sun They were playing happily again [译文] 三只蝴蝶 花园里有三只美丽的蝴蝶，一只是红的，一只是黄的，还有一只是白的。它 们天天在花园里一块儿跳舞、游戏，非常快乐。 有一天，它们正在草地上玩，突然下起大雨来。它们一同飞到红花那里，齐 声向红花请求说:“红花姐姐，红花姐姐，大雨把我们的翅膀淋湿了，大雨把我 们淋得发冷了，让我们到你的叶子下避避雨吧!” 红花说:“红蝴蝶的颜色像我，请进来!黄蝴蝶、白蝴蝶，别进来!” 三只蝴蝶齐声说:“我们三个好朋友，相亲相爱不分手，要来一块儿来，要 走一块儿走。” 雨下得更大了。三只蝴蝶一同飞到黄花那里，齐声向黄花请求说:“黄花姐 姐，黄花姐姐，大雨把我们的翅膀淋湿了，大雨把我们淋得发冷了，让我们到你 的叶子下避避雨吧!” 黄花说:“黄蝴蝶的颜色像我，请进来!红蝴蝶、白蝴蝶，别进来!” 三只蝴蝶齐声说:“我们三个好朋友，相亲相爱不分手，要来一块儿来，要 走一块儿走。” 三只蝴蝶一同飞到白花那里，齐声向白花请求说:“白花姐姐，白花姐姐， 大雨把我们的翅膀淋湿了，大雨把我们淋得发冷了，让我们到你的叶子下避避雨 吧!” 白花说:“白蝴蝶的颜色像我，请进来!黄蝴蝶、红蝴蝶，别进来!” 三只蝴蝶在大雨里飞来飞去，找不着避雨的地方，真着急呀!可是它们谁也 不愿离开自己的朋友。 这时候，太阳公公从云缝里看见了，连忙把空中的黑云赶走，叫雨别再下了。 三只蝴蝶迎着太阳，又一块儿在花园里快乐地跳舞、游戏 《九》 In china, people believe that, at the beginning, the tiger and the cat were friends, and the cat was much smarter than the tiger .The cat learned the physical skills quickly, and the tiger was always behind. Gradually, the tiger had to learn from the cat, and the cat was patient to teach the tiger. Day after day, month after month, finally, the tiger could also run, jump, roll, grasp, tear, and strike as well as the cat. One summer afternoon, the cat was taking a nap as the tiger sitting nearby. Looking at the cat, the tiger suddenly thought, why should he keep befriending with such a small animal since he had already learnt all the skills from the cat? The evil tiger decided to kill the sleeping cat as a before dinner snack. The tiger stood up and approached the cat viciously. Just as this moment, the cat woke up. Opening up her eyes, the smart cat immediately realized what the tiger was trying to do and swiftly jumped onto a nearby tall tree and climbed to the top branch. The tiger thought he had already learned every skill from the cat .But he never knew that the cat had hidden the tree climbing from him. “I kept the last technique of the tree climbing from you just because I suspected you might be can ungrateful friend.” The cat loudly told the tiger who watched under the tree helplessly. 【译文】 在中国，人们相信在很久以前猫和老虎是好朋友，而且猫比老虎聪明的多。猫学 习动作技巧很快，老虎却总是落后。渐渐的，老虎不得不向猫学习了，猫也很有 耐心的教老虎。日复一日，月复一月，老虎终于也可以像猫一样，跑，跳，打滚， 扑抓，撕咬，击打。 一个夏天的下午，猫在打盹，老虎在边上坐着。老虎看着猫，忽然想到，既 然自己已经学会了猫的所有本领，为什么还要和这么小的动物一直做朋友呢,邪 恶的老虎决定杀死熟睡中的猫，当作晚餐前的点心。老虎站起来，邪恶的一步步 靠近猫。就在这时，猫醒来了。聪明的她睁开眼睛立刻意识到老虎要干什么，于 是立刻灵活的跳到了附近的大树上，爬到树顶。 老虎以为他已经学到了猫的所有本领，但他不知道猫还藏了一手爬树的本事。 “我没有让你学这最后一个爬树的技巧，因为我怀疑你可能会是个不知感恩的朋 友。”猫高声告诉树下无奈的老虎。 《十》 Mr. Jones had a few days‟ holiday, so he said, “I‟m going to go to the mountains by train.” He put on his best clothes, took a small bag, went to the station and got on the train. He had a beautiful hat, and he often put his head out of the window during the trip and looked at the mountains. But the wind pulled his hat off. Mr. Jones quickly took his old bag and threw that out of the window too. The other people in the carriage laughed. “Is your bag going to bring your beautiful hat back?” they asked. “No,” Mr. Jones answered, “but there‟s no name and no address in my hat, and there‟s a name and address on the bag. Someone‟s going to find both of them near each other, and he‟s going to send me the bag and the hat.” 《十一》 An old lady went out shopping last Tuesday. She came to a bank and saw a car near the door. A man got out of it and went into the bank. She looked into the car. The keys were in the lock. The old lady took the keys and followed the man into the bank. The man took a gun out of his pocket and said to the clerk, “Give me all the money.” But the old lady did not see this. She went to the man, put the keys in his hand and said, “Young man, you‟re stupid! Never leave your keys in your car: someone‟s going to steal it!” The man looked at the old woman for a few seconds. Then he looked at the clerk—and then he took his keys, ran out of the bank, got into his car and drove away quickly, without any money. 《十二》 Mary was an English girl, but she lived in Rome. She was six years old. Last year her mother said to her, “You‟re six years old now, Mary, and you‟re going to begin going to a school here. You‟re going to like it very much, because it‟s a nice school.” “Is it an English school?” Mary asked.“Yes, it is,” her mother said. Mary went to the school, and enjoyed her lessons. Her mother always took her to school in the morning and brought her home in the afternoon. Last Monday her mother went to the school at 4 o‟clock, and Mary ran out of her class. “We‟ve got a new girl in our class today, Mummy,” she said. “She‟s six years old too, and she‟s very nice, but she isn‟t English. She‟s German.” “Does she speak English?” Mary‟s mother asked.“No, but she laughs in English,” Mary said happily. 《十三》 Mrs. Jones did not have a husband, but she had two sons. They were big, strong boys, but they were lazy. On Saturdays they did not go to school, and then their mother always said, “Please cut the grass in the garden this afternoon, boys.” The boys did not like it, but they always did it. Then somebody gave one of the boys a magazine, and they saw a picture of a beautiful lawn-mower in it. There was a seat on it, and there was a woman on the seat. The boy took the picture to his mother and brother and said to them, “Look, that woman‟s sitting on the lawn-mower and driving it and cutting the grass. We want one of those.” “One of those lawn-mowers?” his mother asked. “No,” the boy said. “We want one of those women. Then she can cut grass every week.” 《十四》 One of Harry‟s feet was bigger and the other. “I can never find boots and shoes for my feet,” he said to his friend Dick. “Why don‟t you go to a shoemaker?” Dick said. “A good one can make you the right shoes.” “I‟ve never been to a shoemaker,” Harry said. “Aren‟t they very expensive?” “No,” Dick said, “some of them aren‟t. There‟s a good one in our village, and he‟s quite cheap. Here‟s his address.” He wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to Harry. Harry went to the shoemaker in Dick‟s village a few days later, and the shoemaker made him some shoes. Harry went to the shop again a week later and looked at the shoes. Then he said to the shoemaker angrily, “You‟re a silly man! I said, „Make one shoe bigger than the other,‟ but you‟ve made one smaller than the other!” 《十五》 The Rabbit and The Wolf’ One day a rabbit was walking near the hill. He heard someone crying,„Help! Help!‟It was a wolf. A big stone was on the wolfs back. He cried, "Mr. Rabbit, take this big stone from my back, or I will die." The Rabbit moved the stone from the wolfs back. Then the wolf jumped and caught the rabbit. “If you kill me, I will never help you again.” Cried the rabbit . “Ha,ha!You will not live, because I will kill you." said the wolf. „I helped you. How can you kill me? It‟s unfair. You ask Mrs. Duck. She will say that you are wrong." said the rabbit. “I will ask her,” said the wolf. So they went to ask Mrs. Duck. The duck listened to their story and said,” What stone? I must see it. Then I can know who is right. “So the wolf and the rabbit and the duck went to see the stone. "Now, put the stone back," said Mrs. Duck. So they put the stone back. Now the big stone is on the wolf‟s back again. 【译文】 兔子和狼 一天，兔子先生正在山坡附近遛哒，他听到有人在呼救:“救命呀～救命呀～”他 这边瞧瞧，那边望望，他发现了可怜的狼先生，一块大石头掉下来压在狼先生的 背上，他起不来了。他喊道:“兔先生，把这块大石头从我背上搬开，要不然我 会死的。”兔子好不容易把大石头从狼背上搬开，这时，狼跳起来，把兔子叼在 嘴里。“如果你吃了我，”兔子叫喊着，“只要我还活着，我再也不帮你的忙了。” “你 不会活了，”狼说，“因为我要吃了你了。” “好人是不会杀救过他命的恩人的，” 兔子说，“这很不公平，你去问鸭子夫人，她很胖，她样样事情都通晓，她一定 会说没有一个好人会干出这种事情来。” “我去问她”，于是，狼和兔子到了鸭子 家。狼说:“当兔子先生在山坡附近坐下时，我抓住了他，因此，我要吃掉他。 现在你来谈谈你是怎样想的吧。” “我从他的背上搬开好大的一块石头，”兔子说， “因此，我说他不应该吃掉我，因为我救了他。现在你说说你的看法吧。” “什么 石头,”鸭子夫人问。“山附近一块石头，”兔子说。“我必须去看看，”鸭子说，“如 果我连那块石头也没有看见，那我怎么说得出我的看法,”于是，狼、兔子和鸭 子一起去看那块石头。现在你知道结果是什么了。 《十六》 Goldilocks and the Three Bears Papa Bear,Mama Bear,and Baby Bear lived in the forest. “Ring,”went the telephone.”Come to my house for lunch,” said Auntie Bear. “Yes,we will come,”said Mama Bear. She set out bowls of stew to cool for supper. Then,the Bears went to Auntie Bear’s house. A little girl named Goldilocks lived in the village. She discovered the Bears’ house and went inside Without asking.She sat in a chair. “This chair is too hard!”she complained. The next chair was smaller,but too soft. The third chair was just right. She sat down with a flop,and the chair legs gave way. Goldilocks saw the three bowls of stew. The big bowl was much too hot! “Maybe this bowl will be cooler,”she said. Goldilocks was right,but it was too cold. She grabbed the third bowl and gobbled it down. It was just right. Then with a yawn,she headed upstairs to the bedroom. Goldilocks tried the first bed,but it was too hard. The next was too soft. Goldilocks sighed and fell asleep as she was lying in the third bed. When the Bears arrived home,Papa Bear shouted, “Somebody’s been sitting on my chair!”Mama Bear cried, “Somebody’s been sitting on my chair!”Then Baby Bear cried, “Somebody’s been sitting on my chair and now it’s all broken!” In the kitchen,Papa Bear looked into his bowl of stew.He said, “Somebody’s been eating my stew!”Mama Bear cried, “Somebody’s been eating my stew!”Baby Bear cried, “Somebody’s been eating my stew,and they ate it all up!” The three bears growled as they climbed the bedroom stairs. Papa Bear growled,”Somebody’s been sleeping in my bed!” Mama Bear growled,”Somebody’s been sleeping in my bed!” Baby Bear cried,”Somebody’s been sleeping in my bed, and there she is!” Goldilocks woke up and wanted to run away, but no one could move.They all froze in their tracks. “Please,forgive me,”Goldilocks cried. The Bears forgave her. Goldilocks quit sneaking into people’s homes. [译文] 金凤花姑娘和三只熊 熊爸爸，熊妈妈和熊宝宝居住在森林里面。 “铃，”电话来了。“来我的住处吃午餐，” 熊姑姑说。 “好的，我们会来的，”熊妈妈说。 她把炖菜的碗摆好凉上准备当晚饭。 然后，熊一家三口去熊姑姑的住处。 一个叫金凤花的小女孩住在村子里面。 她发现了熊的房子，并且没有问一下就 走了进去。她坐在一张椅子上。 “这张椅子太硬了～”她抱怨。 旁边的椅子更小，但是太软了。 第三张椅子正合适。 她坐下时发出啪的一声响，椅子腿断了。 金凤花看到了三碗炖菜。 大碗是太烫了～ “大概这碗会更凉，”她说。 金凤花是正确的，但是它是太凉了。 她抓着第三个碗，狼吞虎咽的吃了下去。 正合适。 然后打了个哈欠，她上楼来到了卧室。 金凤花试了第一张床，但是太硬了。 下一张太软。 金凤花叹了口气，躺下睡着了，这时候她 躺在第三张床上。 当熊一家到达家里的时候，熊爸爸叫喊道， “有人坐过我的椅子～”熊妈妈喊道， “有人坐过我的椅子～”然后熊宝宝哭道， “有人坐过我的椅子，现在它全坏了～” 在厨房里，熊爸爸看了看他的炖菜的碗。他说， “有人吃过我的炖菜～”熊妈妈喊道， “有人吃过我的炖菜～”熊宝宝哭到， “有人吃过我的炖菜，现在他们把它吃完了～” 当他们爬上卧室的楼梯，这三只熊咆哮了。 熊爸爸咆哮道，“有人睡过我的床～” 熊妈妈咆哮道，“有人睡过我的床～” 熊宝宝哭喊道，“有人睡过我的床，她在这里～” 金凤花醒了，想要逃跑， 但是(身体)没有任何一个地方能动，它们都冻在了 它们的位置上。 “请原谅我，”金凤花哭着说。 熊一家原谅了她。 金凤花再也不偷偷溜进别人的家了。 《十七》 The Lion and the Mouse A LION was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying: "If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness." The Lion laughed and let him go. It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came and gnawed the rope with his teeth and set him free, exclaiming: "You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor; now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to con benefits on a Lion." 【译文】 狮子和老鼠 狮子睡着了,有只老鼠跳到了他身上。狮子猛然站起来,把他抓住,准备吃掉。老鼠请 求饶 命,并说如果保住性命,必将报恩,狮子轻蔑地笑了笑,便把他放走了。不久,狮子真 的被老鼠救 了性命。原来狮子被一个猎人抓获,并用绳索把他捆在一棵树上。老鼠听到了他 的哀嚎,走 过去咬断绳索,放走了狮子,并说: “你当时嘲笑我,不相信能得到我的报答, 现在可清楚了,老 鼠也能报恩。” 这故事说明,时运交替变更,强者也会有需要弱者的时候。 《十八》 How the Elephant got his trunk Once upon a time, there was a sad elephant. He was dirty and stinky, because he could not reach to wash his back. All the other animals didn’t play with him because he was smelly. Elephant sat under a tree, where nobody could see him. He started to cry. His head was hanging down, crying big tears. He sat and cried for days. One day, when his tears had dried up, he went to itch his head and he felt a bump on his back. Then he noticed his nose had stretched because it had got wet with all the crying and it was now a long trunk which had hit him on his back. He went to the river and got his trunk, put it in the water and sucked the water up. Then he sprayed his back with water. All the other animals came over to him and said “you are so clean and smell so lovely. Do you want to play with us?” The elephant was so happy and said “yes.” 《十九》 There was a guy who went into a shop to buy a parrot. There werethree parrots in the shop. One was $5,000; another one, $10,000; and the third one, $30,000. The customer asked the owner, “How come this guy is $5,000? That’s so expensive for this kindof parrot.” The owner said, “Because I have trained him and he can talk.” So the customer asked him, “How about this guy? What can he do that makes him so expensive?” The owner said, “Well, apart from talking, he can also do some amusing actions,like dancing and so on. That’s why he’s so expensive.” Then the customer said, “How about the third one? What canhe do that makes him so expensive?” The owner of the shopsaid, “I don’t know. Normally, I have never heard him talk, nor dance, nor whistle, nor sing, nothing at all! But the other two call him ‘The Boss.’” 【译文】 老板最大 有个人到一间商店买鹦鹉。店里有三只鹦鹉，其中一只卖五千元，另 一只卖一万元，还有一只卖三万元。顾客问老板:「为什么这只要卖五千元,这 个价钱对这种鹦鹉来说太贵了～」老板说:「因为我有训练他讲话。」顾客又问: 「那这只呢,他会做什么,为什么要卖这么贵,」老板说:「他除了会说话之外， 还会演一些有趣的动作，好比说跳舞等等，所以才卖这么贵。」顾客接着又问: 「那第三只呢,他会做什么,为什么要卖这么贵,」老板说:「我不知道。我从 没听过他讲话、吹口哨或唱歌，也没看过他跳舞，什么都没有～不过另外两只叫 他:『老板～』」 《二十》 A man was going to the house of some rich person. As he went along the road, he saw a box of good apples at the side of the road. He said, "I do not want to eat those apples; for the rich man will give me much food; he will give me very nice food to eat." Then he took the apples and threw them away into the dust. He went on and came to a river. The river had become very big; so he could not go over it. He waited for some time; then he said, "I cannot go to the rich man's house today, for I cannot get over the river." He began to go home. He had eaten no food that day. He began to want food. He came to the apples, and he was glad to take them out of the dust and eat them. Do not throw good things away; you may be glad to have them at some other time. 【译文】 一个人正朝着一个富人的房子走去，当他沿着路走时，在路的一边他发现一箱 好苹果，他说:“我不打算吃那些苹果，因为富人会给我更多的食物，他会给我 很好吃的东西。”然后他拿起苹果，一把扔到土里去。 他继续走，来到河边，河 涨水了，因此，他到不了河对岸，他等了一会儿，然后他说:“今天我去不了富 人家了，因为我不能渡过河。” 他开始回家，那天他没有吃东西。他就开始去找 吃的，他找到苹果，很高兴地把它们从尘土中翻出来吃了。 不要把好东西扔掉， 换个时候你会觉得它们大有用处。 《二十一》 Covering One’s Ears While Stealing a Bell Mr. Wang thinks he is clever, but he always does foolish things. One day he sees a beautiful bell at the top of a door. “Oh! How nice! I will take it home.” He thinks, “What can I do?” After a while he has a “good” idea. “Aha! I have an idea now. I can plug(堵上) my ears. Then I will not hear the ring when I take off the bell.” Then he does so. But as soon as he takes off the bell, the owner opens the door. “What are you doing?” the owner says angrily. 【译文】 掩耳盗铃 王先生总以为自己很聪明，实际上他总干傻事。 一天，他看见一户人家的门头有个很漂亮的铃铛。“啊，真漂亮啊～我要把它 拿回家去。”他自言自语道:“我该怎么做呢,”过了一会儿他想到了一个“好”主意。 “啊哈～我有办法了～我把耳朵堵上，拿铃铛的时候就听不见铃声了。” 于是他就这样做了。可是他刚拿下铃铛，屋子的主人就打开门，怒气冲冲地说: “你在干什么,” 《二十二》 Look at the Sky from the Bottom of a Well There is a frog. He lives in a well and he never goes out of the well. He thinks the sky is as big as the mouth of the well. One day a crow comes to the well. He sees the frog and says, “Frog, let’s have a talk.” Then the frog asks, “Where are you from?” “I fly from the sky,” the crow says. The frog feels surprised and says, “The sky is only as big as the mouth of the well. How do you fly from the sky?” The crow says, “The sky is very big. You always stay in the well, so you don’t know the world is big.” The frog says, “I don’t believe.” But the crow says, “You can come out and have a look by yourself.” So the frog comes out from the well. He is very surprised. How big the world is! 【译文】 坐井观天 有一只青蛙住在井底，他从来没有去过井外面。他以为天空就和井口一样大。 一天，一只乌鸦飞到井边，看见青蛙，就对它说:“青蛙，咱们聊聊吧。”青蛙就问 他:“你从哪里来,”“我从天上上来。青蛙惊讶了，就说:“天空就只有这井 口这么大，你怎么会从天上飞老呢,” 乌鸦说:“天空很大。只不过你一直呆在井里，所有不知道世界很大。”青蛙说:“我不相信。”乌鸦说:“你可以出来，自己看看嘛。” 于是青蛙来到井外。他十分惊讶，原来世界这么大～ 《二十三》