英文阅读小故事

英文小故事

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The Thirsty Pigeon

口渴的鸽子

A

PIGEON,

oppressed

by

excessive

thirst,

saw

a

goblet

of

water

painted

on

a

signboard.

Not

supposing

it

to

be

only

a

picture,

she

flew

towards

it

with

a

loud

whir

and

unwittingly

dashed

against the signboard, jarring herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the

ground, and was caught by one of the bystanders.

Zeal should not outrun discretion.

有只鸽子口渴得很难受，

看见画板上画着一个水瓶，

以为是真的。

他立刻 呼呼地猛飞过

去，

不料一头碰撞在画 板上，折断了翅膀，摔在地上，被人轻易地捉住了。

这是说，有些人想急于得到所需的东西，一时冲动，草率从事 ，就会身遭不幸。

The Raven and the Swan

乌鸦和天鹅

A RA

VEN saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage. Supposing

that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his washing in the water in which he swam, the

Raven left the altars in the neighborhood where he picked up his living, and took up residence in

the

lakes

and

pools. But

cleansing

his

feathers

as

often as

he

would,

he

could

not

change

their

color, while through want of food he perished.

Change of habit cannot alter Nature.

乌鸦非常羡慕天鹅洁白的羽毛。他 猜想天鹅一定是经常洗澡，羽毛才变得如此洁白无

瑕。

于是，他毅然离开了他赖以生存的祭坛，来到江湖边。他天天洗刷自己的羽毛，不但一

点

都没洗白，反而因缺少食物饥饿而死。

这故事是说，人的本性不会随着生活方式的改变而改变。

The Goat and the Goatherd

山羊与牧羊人

A GOA

THERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled and sounded his

horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the summons. At last the Goatherd threw a stone,

and breaking its horn, begged the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied,

fellow, the horn will speak though I be silent.

Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid.

很多山羊被牧羊人赶到羊圈里。有一只山羊不知在吃什么好东西，单独落在后面。牧羊

人

拿起一块石头扔了过去，

正巧打断了 山羊的一只角。

牧羊人吓得请求山羊不要告诉主人，

山

羊说：

“

即使我不说 ，又怎能隐瞒下去呢？我的角已断了，这是十分明显的事实。

”

这故事说明，明显的罪状是无法隐瞒的。

The Miser

守财奴

A MISER sold all that he had and bought a lump of gold, which he buried in a hole in the ground

by the side of an old wall and went to look at daily. One of his workmen observed his frequent

visits to the spot and decided to watch his movements. He soon discovered the secret of the hidden

treasure, and digging down, came to the lump of gold, and stole it. The Miser, on his next visit,

found the hole empty and began to tear his hair and to make loud lamentations. A neighbor, seeing

him overcome with grief and learning the cause, said,

stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It will do you quite the

same service; for when the gold was there, you had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of

it.

有 个守财奴变卖了他所有的家产，换回了金块，并秘密地埋在一个地方。他每天走去看

< /p>

看

他的宝藏。

有个在附近放羊的牧人留心 观察，

知道了真情，

趁他走后，

挖出金 块拿走了。

守

财奴再来时，

发现洞中的金块没有了，

便捶胸痛哭。

有个人见 他如此悲痛，

问明原因后，

说

道：

“

喂，朋友，别再难过了，那块金子虽是 你买来的，但并不是你真正拥有的。去拿一

块

石头来，

代替金块放在洞里，

只要你心里想着那是块金 子，

你就会很高兴。

这样与你拥有

< /p>

真

正的金块效果没什么不同。依我之见，你拥有那金块时，也从没 用过。

”

这故事说明，一切财物如不使用等于没有。

The Wolf and the Lamb

狼与小羊

WOLF, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to

find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him:

last year you grossly insulted me.

not then born.

have

not

yet

tasted

grass.

Again

said

the

Wolf,

drink

of

my

well.

exclaimed

the

Lamb,

which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying,

you refute every one of my imputations.

The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.

一只小 羊在河边喝水，狼见到后，便想找一个名正言顺的借口吃掉他。

于是他跑到上游，恶

狠狠地说小羊把河水搅浑浊了，

使他喝不到清水。

< br>小羊回答说，他仅仅站在河边喝水，

并且

又在下游，根本 不可能把上游的水搅浑。狼见此计不成，又说道：

“

我父亲去年 被你骂过。

”

小羊说，那时他还没有出生。狼对他说：

“

不管你怎样辩解，反正我不会放过

你。

”

这说明，对恶人做任何正当的辩解也是无效的。

The Bat and the Weasels

蝙蝠与黄鼠狼

A BAT who fell upon the ground and was caught by a Weasel pleaded to be spared his life. The

Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the enemy of all birds. The Bat assured him that he

was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus was set free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the

ground and was caught by another Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel

said that he had a special hostility to mice. The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bat,

and thus a second time escaped.

It is wise to turn circumstances to good account.

蝙蝠掉落在地上，

被黄鼠狼叼去，< /p>

他请求饶命。

黄鼠狼说绝不会放过他，

自 己生来痛恨鸟类。

蝙蝠说他是老鼠，不是鸟，便被放了。后来蝙蝠又掉落了下来，被另一 只黄鼠狼叼住，他再

三请求不要吃他。这只黄鼠狼说他恨一切鼠类。蝙蝠改口说自己是鸟 类，并非老

鼠，又被

放了。这样，蝙 蝠两次改变了自己的名字，终于死里逃生。

这故事说明，我们遇事要随机应变方能避免危险。

The Ass and the Grasshopper

驴子与蚱蜢

AN

ASS

having

heard

some

Grasshoppers

chirping,

was

highly

enchanted;

and,

desiring

to

possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived on to give them such

beautiful voices. They replied,

in a short time died of hunger.

驴子听见蚱蜢唱歌，

被美妙动听的歌声所打动，

自己也想能发出同样悦耳动听的声音，

便

羡

慕地问他们吃些什么，才能 发出如此美妙的声音来。蚱蜢答道：

“

吃露水。

”

驴子便也只吃露

水，没多久就饿死了。

这个故事告诉人们不要企望非份之物。

The Lion and the Mouse

狮子与报恩的老鼠

A LION was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up angrily, he caught

him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying: