TheAssandtheGrasshopperan
AsshavingheardsomeGrasshopperschirping,washighlyenchanted;and,desiringtopossessthesamecharmsofmelody,demandedwhatsortoffoodtheylivedon,togivethemsuchbeautifulvoices。Theyreplied,"Thedew。"TheAssresolvedthathewouldonlyliveupondew,andinashorttimediedofhunger。
驴和蚱蜢
一只驴听到几只蚱蜢在叫,便觉得很趣味;于是也想得到同样趣味的音调,便问蚱蜢吃什么东西过活,以致于能有这样优美的声音。蚱蜢说:「露水。」驴子听了,从此以后也单吃露水过活,不久便饿死了。
Mikeisalittleboy.Heisonlyfiveyearsold.Heistoosmalltogotoschool.Sohecannotreadandwrite.
Onedayhestoodatmydeskwithapencilinhishand.Therewasabigpieceofpaperonthedesk.Hewantedtodrawapictureofhimself.Hedrewlinesandclearedthemout,thendrewmoreandclearedthemoutagain.WhenIlookedatthepicture,hewasn'thappy."Well,"hesaidatlasttome,"I'llputatailonitandmakeitamonkey."
Hebegantoaddthetail.Ibegantolaugh.
翻译
迈克是一个小男孩,他只有5岁。他太小还没有上学,因此也不会读和写。
一天,他手里拿着一支铅笔站在我的桌子前。桌子上放着一张大纸,他要画自画像。他画了几笔就擦掉了,再画几笔,有擦掉了。当我看一幅画时,他很不高兴。"好吧,"他最后和我说,"我就再加一条尾巴,把他画成一只猴子吧!"
他开始加上小尾巴,我大笑起来。
Onceamanwantedtogotothesouth,buthiscarriagewasheadingnorth.Apasser-byaskedhim:“Ifyouaregoingtothesouth,whyisyourchariotheadingnorth?”Themananswered,“Myhorseisgoodatrunning,mydriverishighlyskilledatdrivingacarriage,andIhaveenoughmoney.”Themandidn'tconsiderthatthedirectionmightbewrong;thebetterhisconditionswere,thefurtherhewasawayfromhisdestination.
从前有个人要到南方去,他坐的车子却向北方行驶。过路人说:“你去南方,车子怎么向北行驶呢?”他回答说:“我的马很能跑路,我的车夫驾车的技术也很高明,加上我又带了充足的路费。”这个人没有考虑到,方向弄反了,他的条件越好,离他要去的地方就越远。
Theidiomderivedfromthisstoryindicatesthatone'sactionwastheoppositeeffecttoone'sintention.
后来人们就把这个故事概括为“南辕北辙”,比喻一个人的行为和他的目的正好相反。
Longagoagreatmountainbegantorumbleandshake.
Peoplecamefromfarandneartoseewhatwouldhappen.
"Agreatriverwillbeborn."saidone.
"Surelynothinglessthanamightydragonwilleout."saidanother.
"Agodhimselfwillspringformtheserocks."saidathird.
Finally,afterdaysofexpectationasmallcrackappearedinthemountain.Andoutpopped-amouse.
Justbecausesomeonemakesalotoffuss,itdoesn'tmeanheisimportant.
很久以前,一座大山隆隆作响,摇晃起来。远近各处的人都来看是怎样回事。
一个人说:"要出现一条大河了。"
另一个人说:"准会出现一条巨龙。"
第三个人说:"从这些岩石中会出现一尊神来。"
等了几天之后,山坡上最终裂开一条小缝,却蹦出来一只耗子。
正因为某人大肆张扬,所以他没有什么了不起。
ThreeGoodFriends
Oneday,amonkeyrideshisbikeneartheriver.Thistimeheseesalionunderatree.Thelionrunsathim.Heisafraidandfallsintotheriver.Hecan’tswim.Heshouts.Therabbithearshim.Hejumpsintotheriver.Therabbitswimstothemonkey,buthecan’thelphim.Luckily,anelephantcomesalong.Heisveryh2.Hehelpstherabbitandmonkey.Threefriendsareveryhappy.Theygototheelephant’shome.Then,threeofthembecomegoodfriends.
一天,一只猴子在河边骑车。这时他看见树下有一只狮子,狮子向他跑来。他非常的害怕,掉进河里。他不会游泳,大叫起来。兔子听见了,跳进水里,但他却没有办法救猴子。幸运的是,一只大象过来了。大象非常强壮,救出了兔子和猴子。他们来到大象的家,在那里吃了一顿大餐。从此他们成了好朋友。
Acrowfeitverythirsty.Helookedforwaterinthepitcher.Hisbeakcouldnotreachit.Hetiredagainandagain,butstillcouldnottouchthewater.
Whenhewasabouttogiveup,anideacametohim.Hetookapebbleanddroppeditintothepitcher.Thenhetookanotheranddroppeditin.
Gradually,thewaterrose,andthecrowwasabletodrinkthewater.
一只乌鸦口渴了,到处找水喝。终于,他找到了一个大水罐。但是,水罐里面的水并不多,他的尖嘴够不到水面,他试了一次又一次,都没有成功。就在他想放弃的时候,他突然想到一个主意。乌鸦叼来了一块小石子投到水罐里,接着又叼了一块又一块石头放进去。渐渐地,水面升高了。乌鸦高兴地喝到了水。