螃蟹、猫头鹰和蝙蝠去上恶习补习班。数年过后,它们都顺利毕业并获得博士学位。不过,螃蟹仍横行,猫头鹰仍白天睡觉晚上活动,蝙蝠仍倒悬。
“你认得我的.孩子吗?”猫头鹰问道。
“不。”
“真糟糕!”猫头鹰叹息道,“我很为孩子们的性命牵挂,保住它们的命真靠运气了。因为你是百鸟之王,不会把小事记在心上,假如你遇到我的孩子,而又不认识它们,那它们的小命一准送掉。”
“你把它们的样子讲给我听听,”老鹰提议说,“要不然指给我瞅瞅也行。我向你保证,我不会碰伤害你的孩子。”
猫头鹰以未来母亲的身份说道:“我的小东西长得娇小动人,漂亮可爱。单说这些特点你就能轻易地辨认清楚。请记好了,千万别忘掉,要不然,死神就会到我家中,把死亡降临在它们头上。”
没多久,上帝把孩子赐给了猫头鹰。有天傍晚,猫头鹰离开家外出给孩子寻食,老鹰正巧看到一座塌了的房子的洞中,有几个长得怪模怪样的小东西,它们面目丑陋,神态阴郁,发出的叫声阴森森的。老鹰见状说:“这应该不会是我朋友的孩子,把它们作了晚餐吧!”鹰这家伙干这种事从来都是干净利索,这顿饭吃得真可口啊。
不一会儿,猫头鹰回家了。天啊,它看见自己的心肝吃得只剩下几个脚爪,伤心得昏了过去。它哭诉给大家听,并向神哀告,祈求严惩这丧心病狂的强盗。
这时有街坊对它讲:“你还是反省反省自己吧。人总是觉得自己的孩子漂亮可爱,比别人家的要好。谁让你在老鹰跟前把自己的孩子夸奖得像朵花一样?这与它们的本来面目相差太大,没有什么共同之处嘛。”
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.
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