“瞧你多可怜呀,何苦要受那血雨腥风挨饿受冻的罪呢?”鹅跟鹰打着招呼:“你看我日子过得多舒心,饿了有主人备饮食,困了鹅笼是安乐窝。快下来同我一起生活吧!主人会善待你的,”
“你就好好享受吧,我可不稀罕,”鹰不为所动,它望着蓝天深情地说:“我有抱负追求,我要努力奋斗实现心中的理想。”
“别犯傻了,追求什么抱负、理想,”鹅不以为然,它拍扇着翅膀揶揄鹰:“你也一飞冲天闻名了、也让人吹捧为英雄了,但有用吗?还不是时时受煎熬;我虽从没想过出名,日子却过得比你滋润得多。”
“再滋润也是在囚笼中受约束,这种生活有乐趣吗?”鹰高昂着头冷冷地反驳:“我可以在高空中任意翱翔,你却无法享受到这种自由,这是多么可悲的呀!”
“自由,哈哈,自由有什么用呢?”鹅再一次嘲笑鹰,同时挺得意地自我炫耀着:“你纵然再自由,恶劣的生活环境决定只有三十年寿命;我尽管受羁束,但养尊处优能活够八十岁——-这是科学家研究的定论!难道说我这八十年的寿期还没有你那三十年的'短命有价值?”
“可怜的蠢才你听着,生命的价值不以年限的长短来衡量,”鹰严肃地回答鹅:“英雄的生命有时短暂,但它浩气长存;平庸者也可能长寿,死后徒余一抔黄土。我即使时时挨饿受冻,也不愿过你那可怜的寄生生活;我宁可自由生活度过短暂的一生,也不愿意象你这样在鹅笼中浑浑噩噩地混过八十年漫长岁月!”
鹰再也不愿和鹅多费口舌,它舒展双翅搏击长空自由地翱翔在蓝天;笼中的鹅伸长脖子瞪着一双小眼睛呆望着远去的鹰陷入了深思。
Once upon a time, when cups were plates and when knives and forks grew in the ground, there was an old woman who had never seen an eagle.
在和现在非常不一样的从前,有一位老妇人,她从来没见过鹰。
One day, an eagle was flying high in the sky and decided to stop for a rest. He swooped down and landed — where do you think?
有一天,一只高高飞翔的鹰想歇息一会儿,就从天上飞下来,停在了 ... 你猜哪里?
He landed right at the front door of the old woman’s house.
对了,就在这位老妇人的门前。
The old woman took a long, hard look at the eagle and said, “Oh my, what a funny pigeon you are!” She figured he was a pigeon, you see, because although she had never seen an eagle, she had seen lots of pigeons.
“I am not a pigeon at all,” said the eagle, drawing himself up to his full height.
老妇人仔细瞧了鹰很久,她说:“哦,你真是一只看上去很可笑的鸽子”。她认为这只鹰是鸽子,因为她从没见过鹰,但见过很多鸽子。
“我不是鸽子”,鹰说,还努力地立起来,让老妇人好好看看自己。
“Nonsense!” said the old woman. “I’ve lived for more years than you’ve got feathers in your wings, and I know a pigeon when I see one.”
“If you’re so sure that I’m a pigeon,” said the eagle, “then why do you say I’m a funny pigeon?”
“胡说!”老妇人说。“我活得年数比你翅膀上的羽毛还多,我不会认错一只鸽子。”
“如果你这么确定我是一只鸽子”,鹰说,“那你为什么说我很可笑?”
“Well, just look at your beak,” said the old woman. “It’s all bent. Pigeons have nice, straight beaks. And look at those claws of yours! Pigeons don’t have long claws like that. And look at the feathers on top of your head! They are all messed up and need to be brushed down. Pigeons have nice, smooth feathers on their heads.”
“看看你的喙”,老妇人说:“它是弯的,鸽子的喙很直很好看。再看看你的爪子,鸽子的爪子没那么长。还有你头上的羽毛,乱哄哄竖立着,应该梳平,像鸽子头上的毛那样顺。”
And before the eagle could reply, she got hold of him and carried him into the house. She took her clippers and trimmed his claws until they were quite short.
鹰还没来得及回答,老妇人就把他抱起来,带进屋子里,拿出剪刀,把他的爪子剪短剪平了。
She pulled on his beak until it was quite straight. And she brushed down the lovely tuft of feathers on top of his head until it was quite flat.
把它的嘴巴拉直,把头上的那簇毛也梳平了。
“Now you look more like a pigeon!” said the old woman. “That’s so much better!” But the eagle didn’t feel any better. In fact, he felt quite sad.
“好了,你现在终于看上去像一只鸽子了”,老妇人说,“真棒”。但是鹰的感觉可不好,他觉得很悲伤。
As soon as the old woman let him go he flew to the top of a tree. As he was sitting there wondering what to do, another eagle came along and alighted on the bough beside him.
“Well, well,” said the new bird. “Aren’t you a funny looking eagle!”
“Well, at least you know I’m an eagle,” said the first eagle. “Thank goodness for that!”
“What happened to you?” asked the new eagle.
所以当老妇人放下他,他马上飞到了树顶上;正在考虑下一步做什么的'时候,另外一只鹰飞过来,立在他身边。
第二只鹰说:“哈哈,你真是一只看上去很好笑的鹰!”
“好吧,至少你知道我是一只鹰”,第一只鹰说,“谢天谢地。”
“发生了什么事?”第二只鹰问。
“Well,” said the first eagle, “An old woman thought I was a pigeon. And since pigeons don’t have long claws, she trimmed my claws. And since pigeons don’t have hooked beaks, she straightened my beak. And since pigeons don’t
have tufts of feathers on their heads, she brushed my tuft down.”
“是这样的”,第一只鹰说,“一位老妇人认为我是一只鸽子。因为鸽子的爪子不长,她就把我的爪子剪短了。因为鸽子没有弯弯的嘴巴,她就把我的嘴巴拉直了。因为鸽子头顶上没有那一簇毛,她就把我的毛梳平了。”
“She must be a very foolish old woman, indeed,” said the new eagle.
And with that, he took a brush from under his wing, and he brushed the first eagle’s feathers back into a tuft. And with his claws he bent the eagle’s beak down until it was nicely rounded once again.
“她一定是一个非常愚蠢的老妇人”,第二只鹰说。
说到这,第二只鹰从翅膀下拿出一把梳子,把第一只鹰头顶上的那簇毛又梳出来了;然后用自己的爪子去掰第一只鹰的喙,恢复了它原来弯弯的形状。
“There now!” he said, “you look like an eagle again. Don’t worry about your claws, they’ll soon grow back.”
“Thank you, my friend!” said the first eagle.
“Think nothing of it,” said his new friend.
“好了”,他说,“你现在看上去又像一只鹰啦。不要担心你的爪子,它们会长回来的。”
“谢谢你,我的朋友”,第一只鹰说。
“没有什么好谢的”,他的新朋友说。
“But remember this,” he continued, “there are a lot of silly people in the worldwho think that pigeons are eagles, or that eagles are pigeons, or that all sorts of things are other things. And when they are silly like that, they do very foolish things. We must be sure to keep away from that silly old woman and the people like her.”
“但是记住”,他继续说,“世界上有许多很傻的人,他们把鸽子当做鹰,把鹰当做鸽子,把各种事情搞得乱七八糟。他们犯傻的时候,会做非常愚蠢的事情。我们必须要远离这些人,比如那个老妇人,还有像她那样的人。”
And with that, the eagles flew back to their own country and returned to their own nests. And they never went near that silly old woman again.
And so everyone lived happily ever after.
说完,这两只鹰就飞向了他们自己的国度,回到了他们的家。他们再也没有接近过那位老妇人。
从此,大家都快快乐乐地生活。
新梦想提供的`这篇猴子当国王的寓言告诉我们,在任何时候都不能骄傲,否则就会落到像猴子一样的下场。
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