 1.The Cock and the Pearl (公鸡和珍珠)
A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw. |
| 有一次，一只公鸡在农家院子的母鸡群里昂胸阔步的走着，突然，它发现在柴禾堆儿里有个东西在闪闪发光。 |
"Ho! ho!" quoth he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it out From beneath the straw. |
| 公鸡说：“哦，哦！ 这个是我的”。 于是，它很快从稻草下面捡起来， |
What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard? |
| 这是一颗珍珠啊！是谁不小心丢的呢？。 |
"You may be a treasure," quoth Master Cock, "to men that prize you, but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls." |
| 接着公鸡对着它说：“对人来说你是一个宝贝，但对我而言，我宁可你是一粒米而不是珍珠”。 |
Precious things are for those that can prize them. |
| 故事是说：对人来讲，东西之所以珍贵是因为人知道它的价值。 |
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2.The Wolf and the Lamb (狼和小羊)
Once upon a time a Wolf was lapping at a spring on a hillside, |
在很久以前，有一只狼正在山的泉水边舐水喝， |
when, looking up, what should he see but a Lamb just beginning to drink a little lower down. |
当它抬起头时，看见一只小羊在不远的下游正要喝水。 |
"There's my supper," thought he, "if only I can find some excuse to seize it." |
它在想，如果我能找到什么借口就把它抓住，我就会吃到一顿美餐。 |
Then he called out to the Lamb, "How dare you muddle the water from which I am drinking?" |
于是，狼对着小羊嚷着说：“你怎么能把水弄脏，使我喝不到干净的泉水呢？”。 |
"Nay, master, nay," said Lambikin; "if the water be muddy up there, I cannot be the cause of it, for it runs down from you to me." |
小羊说：“不是的！主人，这水是从你那里流过来的，我根本不可能会弄脏水。 |
"Well, then," said the Wolf, "why did you call me bad names this time last year?" |
狼接着又说：“那你去年为什么骂我？” |
"That cannot be," said the Lamb; "I am only six months old." |
小羊说：“怎么可能呢？我现在只有六个月大”。 |
"I don't care," snarled the Wolf; "if it was not you it was your father;" |
狼咆哮着说：“我不管，如果不是你，就是你爸爸”。 |
and with that he rushed upon the poor little Lamb and.WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA WARRA ate her all up. But before she died she gasped out "Any excuse will serve a tyrant." |
狼说着就冲向可怜的小羊，把它咬住大口大口地吃了。小羊临死前喊叫：“欲加之罪，何患无词。” |
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3.The Dog and the Shadow (狗和影子儿)
It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. |
从前，一只狗得到了一块儿肉。它叼着肉想回到家后再细嚼慢咽。 |
Now on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, |
回家的途中，要经过一座木桥。桥下面有流动的溪水。当它正要通过时， |
he l ooked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. |
它低头看见水中自己的影子儿。 |
Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. |
它以为是另外的一只狗叼着肉，所以就打定主意要把肉抢过来。 |
So he made a snap at the shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more. |
它对水中的影子儿猛咬了过去，可是当它张开嘴巴时，口里的肉却掉进水里消失了。 |
Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow. |
故事是说：谨记，不要追逐幻影而丢失已有的东西。 |
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