The fox, filled with arrogance, examined the cat from head to feet, and for a long time did not know whether he should give an answer. At last he said, "Oh, you poor beard-licker, you speckled fool, you hungry mouse hunter, what are you thinking? Have you the nerve to ask how I am doing? What do you know? How many tricks do you understand?"
"I understand but one," answered the cat, modestly.
"What kind of a trick is it?" asked the fox.
"When the dogs are chasing me, I can jump into a tree and save myself."
"Is that all?" said the fox. "I am master of a hundred tricks, and in addition to that I have a sackful of cunning. I feel sorry for you. Come with me, and I will teach you how one escapes from the dogs."
Just then a hunter came by with four dogs. The cat jumped nimbly up a tree, and sat down at its top, where the branches and foliage completely hid her.
"Untie your sack, Mr. Fox, untie your sack," the cat shouted to him, but the dogs had already seized him, and were holding him fast.
"Oh, Mr. Fox," shouted the cat. "You and your hundred tricks are left in the lurch. If you been able to climb like I can, you would not have lost your life."
一只猫在森林里遇到一只狐狸,心想:“他又聪明,又丰富,挺受人尊重的。”於是它很友好地和狐狸打招呼:“日安,尊敬的狐狸先生,您好吗?这些日子挺艰难的,您过得怎么样?”
狐狸傲慢地将猫从头到脚地打量了一番,半天拿不定主意是不是该和它说话。最后它说:“哦,你这个倒霉的长着鬍子、满身花纹的傻瓜、饥肠辘辘地追赶老鼠的.傢伙,你会啥?有甚么资格问我过得怎么样?你都学了点甚么本事?”
“我只有一种本领。”猫谦虚地说。
“甚么本领?”狐狸问。
“有人追我的时候,我会爬到树上去藏起来保护自己。”
“就这本事?”狐狸不屑地说,“我掌握了上百种本领,而且还有满口袋计谋。我真觉得你可怜,跟着我吧,我教你怎么从追捕中逃生。”
就在这时,猎人带着四条狗走近了。猫敏捷地窜到一棵树上,在树顶上蹲伏下来,茂密的树叶把它遮挡得严严实实。
“快打开你的计谋口袋,狐狸先生,快打开呀!”猫冲着狐狸喊道。可是猎狗已经将狐狸扑倒咬住了。“哎呀,狐狸先生,”猫喊道,“你的千百种本领就这么给扔掉了!假如你能像我一样爬树就不至於丢了性命了!”
One fine day in winter some ants were busy drying their store of corn, which had got rather damp during a long spell of rain. Presently1 up came a grasshopper2 and begged them to spare her a few grains, "For," she said, "I'm simply starving." The ants stopped work for a moment, though this was against their principles. "May we ask," said they, "what you were doing with yourself all last summer? Why didn't you collect a store of food for the winter?" "The fact is," replied the grasshopper, "I was so busy singing that I hadn't the time." "If you spent the summer singing," replied the ants, "you can't do better than spend the winter dancing." And they chuckled3 and went on with their work.
冬天一个温暖如春的日子里,蚂蚁们正忙着晒干自己存储的粮食。由于下来很长时间的雨,粮食已经非常潮湿了。这时,来了一只蚂蚱,向他们乞讨一点粮食。“因为,”蚂蚱说,“我实在是饿坏了。”尽管有点违背原则,但蚂蚁们还是停下了手头的工作。“我们能问一下吗?”他们说,“整个夏天你都在做些什么呢?为什么不为冬天储存一些粮食呢?”“实际上,”蚂蚱回答道,“我一直在忙着唱歌,根本没有时间存储粮食。”“如果你整个夏天都在唱歌,”蚂蚁们回答道,“那么,你最好在冬天就忙着跳舞吧。”他们哈哈大笑起来,继续忙于各自的工作。
One day, it met beside the well a large soft-shelled turtle which had just crawled up from the sea.
The frog bragged1 to the turtle: "Look, how happy I am to live here! When I feel glad, I would bounce for a while near the well; and when I am tired, I would return to the well to sleep and rest for a while by the brick hole. Sometimes, I would quietly soak my whole body in the water, showing only my head and mouth. Sometimes, I would stroll in the soft mud, which is very comfortable. None of those tiny crabs2 and tadpoles3 can compare with me. I am the master of this well, free and unrestrained. Why don't you come often to play in the well?"
Hearing this, the turtle was itching4 to go down to take a look. But before he put his left foot into the well, his right foot stumbled. He quickly retreated two steps and told the frog about the sea: "Have you ever seen the sea? The sea is very, very wide, over 1,000 1i. The sea is very, very deep, over 1,000 zhang (3'/3 metres. In ancient times, in nine years out of ten there were floods, but the water in the sea did not rise much. Later, in seven years out of eight there were droughts, but the water in the sea did not drop much. Neither big floods nor big droughts can affect the sea. Only living in the sea can you feel real happiness!"
Amazed at what the big turtle had said, the frog was dumbstruck.
一只青蛙住在一口浅井里。
有一天,青蛙在井边碰上了一只刚从海里爬上来的大鳖。
青蛙对大鳖夸口说:“你看,我住在这里多么快乐!高兴了,就在井边跳跃一阵子;疲倦了,就回到井里,睡在砖洞边上休息一会儿。有时候,我静静地把全身泡在水里,只露出头和嘴巴;有时候,在软绵绵的泥浆里散散步,也很舒服。那些螃琪和蛾鲜,它们谁也比不上我。我是这个井的主人,自由自在,你为什么不常到井里来游玩游玩呢?”
大鳖听了青蛙的话,心里痒痒的,准备下去看看。但是它的.左脚还没伸进去,右脚就已经绊住了。它连忙后退了两步,把大海的情形告诉青蛙,说:“你见过大海吗?海很大很大,哪止千里;海很深很深,哪止千丈。古时候,十年里有九年发大水。但是海里的水涨高不了多少。后来,八年里有七年要大旱,可是海里的水也不见得浅了多少。大涝和大旱都影响不了大海。住在大海里,才是真正的快乐呢!”
听了大鳖的这一番话,青蛙非常吃惊,呆在那里,无话可说了。
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