伊索寓言1

　　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 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.

　　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 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.

　　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 lamentation

　　s. 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."

　　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 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 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。