伊索寓言英文小故事

　　寓言是民间口头创作，至今保存了许多当时流行的优秀寓言。

　　蝙蝠和鼠狼

　　bat falling upon the ground was caught by a weasel, ofwhom he earnestly besought his life. the weasel refused,saying, that he was by nature the enemy of all birds. thebat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, andthus saved his life.

　　shortly afterwards the bat again fellon the ground, and was carght by another weasel, whom helikewise entreated not to eat him. the weasel said that hehad a special hostility to mice. the bat assured him thathe was not a mouse, but a bat; and thus a second timeescaped.it is wise to turn circumstances to good account.

　　一只蝙蝠坠落到地面上来，被一只鼠狼捉住了，蝙蝠哀求讨饶。鼠狼不答应，说它自己最爱和鸟类为敌。蝙蝠便证明它自己不是鸟，只是一只老鼠，因此鼠狼就放了它。

　　不久这只蝙蝠又坠落到地上来，被另一只鼠狼捉住，它同样地哀求讨饶。那鼠狼说它自己最恨老鼠，蝙蝠证明自己并不是老鼠，而是一只蝙蝠;因此，它第二次又安然地逃离危险了。随机应变乃聪明之举。

　　驴和蚱蜢

　　Ass having heard some Grasshoppers chirping, was highly enchanted; and, desiring to possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived on, to give them such beautiful voices. They replied, "The dew." The Ass resolved that he would only live upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger.

　　一只驴听到几只蚱蜢在叫，便觉得很有趣;于是也想得到同样有趣的音调，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。

　　狮和鼠

　　lion was awakened from sleep by a mouse running over his face. rising up in anger, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the mouse piteously entreated, saying: "if you would only spare my life, i would be sure to repay your kindness." the lion laughed and let him go.

　　it happened shortly after this that the lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. the mouse, recognizing his roar, came up, and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and setting him free, exclaimed: "you ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favour; but now you know that it is possible for even a mouse to confer benefits on a lion."

　　一只老鼠从一只狮子面前跑过去，将它从梦中吵醒。狮子生气地跳起来，捉住老鼠，要弄死它。老鼠哀求说：「只要你肯饶恕我这条小生命，我将来一定会报答你的大恩。」狮子便笑着放了它。

　　狼和鹳雀

　　Wolf, having a bone stuck in his throat, hired a Crane, for a large sum, to put her head into his throat, and draw out the bone. When the Crane had extracted the bone, and demanded the promised payment, the Wolf, grinning and grinding his teeth, exclaimed: "Why, you have surely already a sufficient recompense, in having been permitted to draw out your head in safety from the mouth and jaws of a wolf."

　　一只狼喉咙鲠了一根骨头，便用很多钱去雇请一只鹳雀，将头伸进他的喉咙中，把那块骨头取出来。当鹳雀拔出那块骨头，向他索取约定的报酬，狼却呲牙咧齿地说：「怎么?允许你的头从一只狼的嘴巴和牙床中安全地伸出来，已经是莫大的报酬了。」为恶人效劳，不要希望得到报酬;要是能避免伤害，已经是万幸了。