从前,有个人种了一棵葫芦。细长的葫芦藤上长满了绿叶,开出了几朵雪白的小花。花谢以后,藤上挂了几个小葫芦。多么可爱的小葫芦哇!那个人每天都要去看几次。
有一天,他看见叶子上爬着一些蚜虫,心里想,有几个虫子怕什么!他盯着小葫芦自言自语地说:“我的小葫芦,快长啊,快长啊!长得赛过大南瓜才好呢!”
一个邻居看见了,对他说:“你别光盯着葫芦了,叶子上生了蚜虫,快治一治吧!”那个人感到很奇怪,他说:“什么?叶子上的虫还用治?我要的是葫芦。”
没过几天,叶子上的蚜虫更多了。小葫芦慢慢地变黄了,一个一个都落了。
一只杜鹃在树枝上发出阵阵哀啼,一只可爱的斑鸠听到了,便向它询问,希望能帮助它排忧解难。
斑鸠站在枝头与它絮语:“杜鹃,你的鸣叫为什么这样哀怨啊?是不是因为春天即将离开,冬天逼近,爱情也将逝去,阳光也不再和煦温暖啊?”
杜鹃悲哀地说:“我这样可怜,怎能不伤心?请你帮我评评理。今年春天我曾幸福地恋爱,不久就当上了母亲。谁知孩子们完全不想与我相认,难道这就是我所盼望的报恩?当我看到小鸭子把母鸭围住,十分亲昵,而母鸡一声召唤,小鸡就向母鸡扑去,我怎能不感到羡慕?而我无依无靠,孤孤单单,根本不知道什么是孩子们对母亲的依恋。”
斑鸠回答道:“可怜的杜鹃,我对你深表同情。如果孩子们如此不孝顺,那我可无法忍受,尽管这类事层出不穷。可是你说你已经生育过孩子?你什么时候筑的巢,我怎么从没有看到呢?在我印象中你总是不停地飞来飞去。”
杜鹃不屑地说:“浪费大好时光,卧在巢里去孵雏,做那种事简直愚笨如猪!我总是在别的鸟巢里下蛋,让它们替我孵。”
斑鸠禁不住讽刺道:“那你还希望从孩子们那里得到什么温暖?”
天色已晚,他闯入密林。
迷路了!他陷入困境,
前进不得,后退又不能。
纵使驴子双目明亮,
也奈何不得夜黑林深。
幸好碰到了一只猫头鹰,
他情愿替驴子把路引。
沟壑、土丘、山岗,全看得清,
猫头鹰确有夜行的好本领。
终于登上了坦途天色大明,
驴子怎忍离开引路人?
他央求猫头鹰不要离分。
猫头鹰竟然心血来潮。
想骑着驴儿游遍世上路程。
他坐上驴背俨然主人,
指令驴儿前行。
他们顺利吗?遗憾万分!
太阳刚刚出来,
描头鹰的双眼立即失明。
然而它又刚愎自用,
命令着驴儿向西向东。
它吆喝着:“注意,右面有坑!”
其实,左边的坑比右边的更深。
“再往左靠,再往左靠!”
砰!驴子连同猫头鹰坠入谷中。
THE OWL AND THE BIRDS
The owl is a very wise bird;and once,long ago,when the first oak sprouted in the forest,she called all the other Birds together and said to them,“You see this tiny flee?If you take my advice,you will destroy it now when it is small:for when it grows big,the mistletoe will appear upon it,from which birdlime will be prepared for your destruction.”Again,when the first flax was sown,she said to them,“Go and eat up that seed,for it is the seed ofthe flax,out ofwhich men will one day make nets to catch you.”Once more,when she saw the first archer,she warned the Birds that he was their deadly enem—who would wing his arrows with their own feamers and shoot them.But they took no notice of what she said:in fact,they thought she was rather mad,and laughed at heE When.however.evewthing turned Out as she had foretold.they changed their minds and conceived a great respect fOr her wisdom.Hence,whenever she appears,the Birds attend upon her in me hope of hearing something that may be fbr their good.She.howeveg gives them advice no longer.but sits moping and pondering on the folly ofher kind.
一头驴不自量力地去和一匹猎马赛跑。这场比赛很悲惨地结束了,驴被嘲笑着。“我现在才觉察到失败的原因所在,”驴说,“几个月以前我脚上扎了一根刺,现在还痛呢。”
猎马说即使你腿脚好了,你也跑不过我,因为我注定是在大草原上奔跑的,但是你只能在家庭磨房里带着。不要为自己失败找借口了。我们可以等到你觉得没事的时候在比赛。这时候的驴子灰溜溜的跑回了磨房继续拉磨。
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