英语童话故事两则「荐读」
猎狗和狐狸的故事
A hound, roaming in the forest, spied a lion. He thought the lion might be a good prey1 and chased, thinking he would make a fine quarry2. Presently the lion perceived that he was being pursued, so, stopping short, he rounded on his pursuer and gave a loud roar. The hound immediately turned tail and fled. A fox, seeing him running away, jeered3 at him and said, “Ho! Ho! There goes the coward who chased a lion and ran away the moment the roared!”
有一条猎狗,正在森林里闲逛,猛然看见了一只狮子,心想这可是一个不错的猎物,便追了上去,想施展一下自己的小伎俩。很快,狮子觉察到自己被追踪了,便突然停住,回过头来冲着追捕者大声吼叫。猎狗立刻转身逃跑了。一只狐狸见状,便嘲笑起猎狗:“呵呵,真是个胆小鬼,竟然还敢追狮子,只要狮子一声吼,你可就落荒而逃了!”
蚂蚁和蚂蚱的'故事
One fine day in winter some ants were busy drying their store of corn, which had got rather damp during a long spell of rain. Presently1 up came a grasshopper2 and begged them to spare her a few grains, “For,” she said, “Im simply starving.” The ants stopped work for a moment, though this was against their principles. “May we ask,” said they, “what you were doing with yourself all last summer? Why didnt you collect a store of food for the winter?” “The fact is,” replied the grasshopper, “I was so busy singing that I hadnt the time.” “If you spent the summer singing,” replied the ants, “you cant do better than spend the winter dancing.” And they chuckled3 and went on with their work.
冬天一个温暖如春的日子里,蚂蚁们正忙着晒干自己存储的粮食。由于下来很长时间的雨,粮食已经非常潮湿了。这时,来了一只蚂蚱,向他们乞讨一点粮食。“因为,”蚂蚱说,“我实在是饿坏了。”尽管有点违背原则,但蚂蚁们还是停下了手头的工作。“我们能问一下吗?”他们说,“整个夏天你都在做些什么呢?为什么不为冬天储存一些粮食呢?”“实际上,”蚂蚱回答道,“我一直在忙着唱歌,根本没有时间存储粮食。”“如果你整个夏天都在唱歌,”蚂蚁们回答道,“那么,你最好在冬天就忙着跳舞吧。”他们哈哈大笑起来,继续忙于各自的工作。
