Aesop's fable
伊索寓言
Lesson 5
狐狸和烏鴉
The Fox and the Crow
烏鴉坐在樹枝上,嘴裏叼着一塊奶酪。這時,狐狸在觀察烏鴉,轉動鬼腦筋想得到那塊奶酪。於是,狐狸走過去,站在樹下,仰起頭說道:“我的頭上有一隻多麼高貴的鳥兒呀!她的美貌天下無雙,她的羽毛精緻纖美。要是她的聲音也像外貌和羽毛那樣美好,毫無疑問,她真該成爲鳥類的女王!”
聽到這番恭維,烏鴉簡直受寵若驚,一心只想着向狐狸炫耀一下自己的歌喉,就“呱”地大叫了一聲。理所當然,她嘴裏的那塊奶酪就掉了下去,狐狸立刻抓奶酪,說:“烏鴉夫人,我知道你的歌喉很不錯,可你需要的是智慧。 ”
【烏鴉和狐狸的寓意】這則寓言告訴我們做事情一定要通過思考來解決問題,不能盲目行動。用合適的方法做恰當的事情
A Crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak when a Fox observed her and set his wits to work to discover some way of getting the cheese. Coming and standing under the tree he looked up and said, “What a noble bird I see above me! Her beauty is without equal, the hue of her plumage exquisite. If only her voice is as sweet as her looks are fair, she ought without doubt to be Queen of the Birds.”
The Crow was hugely flattered by this, and just to show the Fox that she could sing she gave a loud caw. Down came the cheese, of course, and the Fox, snatching it up, said, “You have a voice, madam, I see: what you want is wits.”