concealed himself in the branches. The other, seeing that he

must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the Bear came



up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held

his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as much as he



could. The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch

a dead body. When he was quite gone, the other Traveler



descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend

what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear. "He gave me this



advice," his companion replied. "Never travel with a friend who

deserts you at the approach of danger."



Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

The Oxen and the Axle-Trees



A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of

Oxen. The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the



Oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: "Hullo there! why

do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not



you, ought to cry out."

Those who suffer most cry out the least.



The Thirsty Pigeon

A PIGEON, oppressed by excessivethirst, 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.



The Raven and the Swan

A RAVEN 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.

The Goat and the Goatherd



A GOATHERD 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, "Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speak

though I be silent."



Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid.

The Miser



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, "Pray do not grieve so; but

go and take a 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."

The Sick Lion



A LION, unable from old age and infirmities to provide himself

with food by force, resolved to do so by artifice. He returned



to his den, and lying down there, pretended to be sick, taking

care that his sickness should be publicly known. The beasts



expressed their sorrow, and came one by one to his den, where the

Lion devoured them. After many of the beasts had thus



disappeared, the Fox discovered the trick and presenting himself

to the Lion, stood on the outside of the cave, at a respectful



distance, and asked him how he was. "I am very middling,"

replied the Lion, "but why do you stand without? Pray enter



within to talk with me." "No, thank you," said the Fox. "I

notice that there are many prints of feet entering your cave, but



I see no trace of any returning."

He is wise who is warned by the misfortunes of others.



The Horse and Groom

A GROOM used to spend whole days in currycombing and rubbing down



his Horse, but at the same time stole his oats and sold them for

his own profit. "Alas!" said the Horse, "if you really wish me



to be in good condition, you should groom me less, and feed me

• feather [´feðə] n.羽毛 (初中英语单词)


• frozen [´frəuzn] freeze 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• warmth [wɔ:mθ] n.温暖；热情；激动 (初中英语单词)


• breath [breθ] n.呼吸；气息 (初中英语单词)


• running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)


• frighten [´fraitn] vt.吓唬，使惊惧 (初中英语单词)


• swallow [swɔləu] n.燕子 v.吞，咽；淹没 (初中英语单词)


• dispute [di´spju:t] v.&n.争论，辩论；争吵 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• protection [prə´tekʃən] n.警戒；护照；通行证 (初中英语单词)


• capture [´kæptʃə] vt.&n.捕获；俘获；夺取 (初中英语单词)


• pledge [pledʒ] n.信物；誓约vt.使发誓 (初中英语单词)


• riches [´ritʃiz] n.房地产；丰富 (初中英语单词)


• greedily [´gri:dili] ad.贪婪地 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• prevail [pri´veil] vi.胜(过)；流行；普遍 (初中英语单词)


• statue [´stætʃu:] n.塑像，雕像 (初中英语单词)


• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)


• selfish [´selfiʃ] a.自私的，利己的 (初中英语单词)


• overcome [,əuvə´kʌm] vt.战胜，克服 (初中英语单词)


• thirst [θə:st] n.渴，口渴；渴望 (初中英语单词)


• measure [´meʒə] n.量度；范围 vt.测量 (初中英语单词)


• descend [di´send] v.下来，下降 (初中英语单词)


• safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)


• companion [kəm´pæniən] n.同伴；同事；伴侣 (初中英语单词)


• terribly [´terəbli] ad.可怕地 (初中英语单词)


• pigeon [pidʒin] n.鸽子 (初中英语单词)


• neighborhood [´neibəhud] n.邻居；邻近；附近 (初中英语单词)


• residence [´rezidəns] n.居住(期间)；住宅 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)


• grieve [gri:v] v.&n.(使)悲痛；哀悼 (初中英语单词)


• unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)


• sickness [´siknis] n.生病；呕吐，恶心 (初中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)


• partnership [´pɑ:tnəʃip] n.合伙关系 (高中英语单词)


• mutual [´mju:tʃuəl] a.相互的；共同的 (高中英语单词)


• contrive [kən´traiv] v.发明；设计；图谋 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• suffice [sə´fais] vt.使满足 vi.足够 (高中英语单词)


• plight [plait] n.境况；困境；苦境 (高中英语单词)


• excessive [ik´sesiv] a.过分的；极端的 (高中英语单词)


• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)


• compassion [kəm´pæʃən] n.同情；怜悯 (英语四级单词)


• contention [kən´tenʃən] n.论点；竞争；争论 (英语四级单词)


• calamity [kə´læmiti] n.灾害，大灾难 (英语四级单词)


• tortoise [´tɔ:təs] n.(乌)龟 (英语四级单词)


• lamentation [,læmen´teiʃən] n.悲痛，哀悼，痛哭 (英语四级单词)


• traveled [´trævəld] a.见面广的；旅客多的 (英语四级单词)


• respective [ri´spektiv] a.各自的，各个的 (英语四级单词)


• superiority [su:piəri´ɔriti, sju:-] n.优越，卓越 (英语四级单词)


• prowess [´prauis] n.勇猛；技术；本领 (英语四级单词)


• manger [´meindʒə] n.槽；牛槽 (英语四级单词)


• sincerity [sin´seriti] n.真诚；诚意 (英语四级单词)


• whereupon [,weərə´pɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语四级单词)


• goblet [´gɔblit] n.高脚玻璃杯 (英语四级单词)


• workmen [´wə:kmen] n.workman的复数 (英语四级单词)


• resolved [ri´zɔlvd] a.决心的；坚定的 (英语四级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)


• benefactor [´beni,fæktə] n.捐助人；恩人 (英语六级单词)


• lazily [´leizili] ad.懒惰地，慢吞吞地 (英语六级单词)


• forsook [fə´suk] forsake的过去式 (英语六级单词)


• outrun [aut´rʌn] vt.追过；逃脱 (英语六级单词)


• plumage [´plu:midʒ] n.羽毛；漂亮衣服 (英语六级单词)


• publicly [´pʌblikli] ad.公然；公众所有地 (英语六级单词)