1、A TURTLE'S GRATITUDE
感恩的乌龟

　　During the Chin dynasty of the fourth century, there was a middle aged man in Shanyin called K'ung Yu. He was an official for the government, but he had practically the lowest official position in the whole dynasty. His position was low, and so was his pay. Times were hard for him.
　　在公元四世纪的陈代，山阴县有个名叫孔玉的中年人。他是一个地位极其卑微的小官，官俸也少得可怜，日子过得非常艰苦。

　　Once he saw a turtle someone was getting ready to eat. He felt sorry for it,so he bought the turtle and took it to the river. There he let it go.
　　一次它看到一只乌龟即将被人吃掉的，他很为它难过，所以把它买下来，带它到河边放生。

　　The turtle seemed to understand that Yu had saved it from the soup. As it swam away, it kept looking back at him. Yu watched it until he couldn't see it any more.
　　乌龟好像知道玉从锅边救了它。它游走的时候不断回头看他。玉一直看着它，直到再也看不见了为止。

　　Years later, Yu had reached a better position. Leading troops, he quelled a rebellion. For his great deeds, the Emperor raised him to the rank of Lord, a high and powerful position.
　　过了若干年，玉得到了提升。他带领军队平判了一场叛乱。由于它的功绩，皇帝提升他到一个高而显赫的职位—侯王。

　　The official insignia for the rank of Lord is a metal seal, or chop. When K'ung Yu was promoted, the royal artisans cast a seal for him, but for some reason, it came out with a turtle on top, and the turtle was looking back over its shoulder. They thought that was strange, so they melted the seal down, made a new mold, and cast it again, but it still came out with a turtle looking back over its shoulder! The artisans tried over and over again. Every time they made the mold very carefully, and everybody inspected the mold. Every time, the mold was fine, but every time they cast the seal, it came out with a turtle on top of it, and every time, the turtle's head was looking back over its shoulder!
　　此侯王的官徽是一枚金属章或印。当孔玉被提升后，皇宫的工匠给他铸了一枚印章，但不知什么原因，每次印章被刻出之后，总有一 只的乌龟在上边，这只龟在向后望。 他们觉得很奇怪，于侨鄣粲≌拢

2、THE CRYING APE

猿猴的哭泣
　　Long, long ago, a file of chariots rumbled quickly across the plain late one spring. The soldiers wore sparkling armor. Banners fluttered in the breeze.
　　很久以前的一个晚春，一队战车轰隆隆地驶过一片平原。战士们穿着闪亮的盔甲，旌旗在风中飘扬。

　　Following them came several generals with their swords and spears. They were followed by a beautiful chariot. Sitting in the chariot was the great King of Chu.
　　车后跟着几个持剑和矛的将军。一辆漂亮的战车跟在他们后边。坐在车上的是伟大的楚国国君。

　　Every year the King took a trip through his kingdom to inspect his land, to hunt, to train his troops, and to get out of his stuffy old palace.
　　每年国王都要启程视察他的国土，打打猎或训练他的军队以躲避他乏味的宫廷生活。

　　The King had a general called Yang Youchi who is very famous for his archery. Even now, over two thousand years later, people still remember what a good shot he was. He never missed. The King trusted him. During the great hunt the rabbits and deer and all the wild animals ran here and there in panic, but nowhere was safe from the arrows of General Yang Youchi. If he shot one hundred times, he hit his aim one hundred times.
　　国王有位将军名叫杨有持，此人以箭术闻名。即使两千年以后的现在，人们仍然记得他是一个多么出色的射击手。他百发百中。国王很信任他。在那次大的狩猎中，兔子、鹿和所有的野兽都惊惶失措，四散逃走，但没有一个安全地方躲避杨守持的箭。如果他射击一百次，他就击中一百次。

　　On the plain was a huge old tree. As they passed, the soldiers heard a noise. They saw an ape in the branches above their heads. It jumped up and down disrespectfully, mocking the hunting soldiers. It threw a nut at them.
　　平原上有一颗很大的树。他们经过的时候，听到一阵骚乱。他们看到一个猿猴在他们头顶的树枝上。他无礼地上下跳来跳去，戏弄士兵们，还朝他们扔果核。

　　"Okay, pretty boy, I'll teach you a lesson," said an archer as he aimed at the ape. But as he shot his arrow, the ape dodged, and the arrow hissed harmlessly through the branches. A shout of laughter went up from the troops.
　　“好家伙，我来教训教训你，” 一个射手瞄准猿猴说。但当他射出箭后，猿猴躲过了。箭嗖搜地空穿过树枝。一阵笑声从队伍中传来。

　　"Lucky," snorted the soldier. "Take that!"
　　“侥幸，”士兵哼着鼻子说，“看着”

　　He shot another arrow, and this time the ape didn't dodge -- it snatched the arrow out of the air! Then it sniffed the arrow contemptuously before breaking it in two.
　　他又射了一箭，这次猿猴没有躲，他在空中接住了箭！它轻蔑地用鼻子发出嗤嗤声，然后将箭折成两段。

　　Now the soldiers were mad. They shot arrows at it, but the ape was so clever and so quick that it caught their arrows in midair and mocked them even more.
　　现在士兵恼了。他们朝它射箭，但猿猴聪明又灵敏，他在空中抓住了他们射的箭， 嘲笑他们更厉害了。

　　When the King saw how disrespectful the ape was, he ordered General Yang to go shoot down that smart aleck ape.
　　国王看到猿猴如此放肆，他命令杨将军去把自作聪明的猿猴射下来。

　　The ape seemed to understand, because as soon as General Yang rode toward the tree, the ape began to cry. Tears rolled down its face, and it sobbed and howled very piteously.
　　猿猴好像明白，因为当杨将军骑向树时，它哭了起来。眼泪顺着他的脸哗哗地淌，它可怜兮兮地哀号起来。

　　The King asked, "Why is the ape crying?"
　　国王问道，“猿猴哭什么呀？”

　　Yang Youchi answered, "It must know that my arrows never miss, so no matter how cunning it may be, it must die now, at your highness' command. That is why it is crying."
　　杨有持答道，“它肯定知道我箭不虚射，不管它多狡猾，在陛下的命令下，它现在也得死了。这是它为什么哭的原因。

　　The King hung his head in thought. How sad the ape was! All the other animals must be suffering, too. His royal heart filled with mercy. He told General Yang to put away his weapons, and called off the hunt, so that no more animals would be hurt.
　　国王沉思起来。猿猴好伤心啊，其他的动物也肯定很痛苦。他尊贵的心里充满了慈悲。他叫杨将军放下武器，取消打猎，以避免伤害更多的动物。

　　When he returned to his capital ahead of schedule, all the people there found out that the King had been moved by an ape's tears. The people of Chu were all very happy to have such a kind and loving King, so they worked very hard for their country, and from then on, Chu was strong and powerful for hundreds of years.
　　当他提前返回都城时，那里所有的人都知道国王被一只猿猴得眼泪打动了。楚国人非常高兴拥有这样一位善良和充满爱心的国王，他们工作更加勤奋了。此后几百年，楚国一直很强大。

3 The wind and the sun　　The wind and the sun were disputing who was the stronger.　　Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road. The sun said, "Whoever can make the traveler take off his coat will be the stronger." 　　So the sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind began to blow as hard as it could. As the wind blew harder, the traveler wrapped his coat more closely around himself.　　Then the sun came out. He shone on the traveler. The traveler soon felt quite hot, and took off his coat.   风和太阳　　●风和太阳两方为谁的能量大相互争论不休。　　●突然，他们看到一个行人走在路上，太阳说：“谁能使行人脱下衣服，谁就更强大。”　　●太阳藏在乌云后面，风开始拼命地吹，风刮得越猛烈，行人越是裹紧自己的衣服。　　●太阳出来了，暖暖地晒着行人，行人感到很热，很快就把外套脱了下来。寓意: 劝说往往比强迫更为有效。　

4   The wolf and the lamb　　Once upon a time a wolf was lapping at a stream. When he looked up, he saw a lamb drinking a little lower down. 　　"There's my supper," he thought. "I will find some excuse to catch it." Then he called out to the lamb, "How dare you muddle the water?" "No, master," said the lamb. "I cannot muddle your water because it runs down from you to me." 　　"Well, then," said the wolf. "Why did you call me bad names this time last year?" "It was impossible," said the lamb. "I am only six months old." 　　"I don't care," shouted the wolf. "If it was not you, it must be your father." After that he rushed at the poor little lamb and ate it up.  狼与小羊　　●从前，一只狼在溪流喝水，看到一只小羊在下游喝水。　　●“那是我的晚餐，”狼想，“我要找一个借口吃掉他。”于是，他恶狠狠地对小羊说：“你怎么敢搅浑浊了我的水？”“我没有，先生，”小羊回答说，“我在下游喝水，怎么能搅浑浊你喝的水呢？”　　●“那么，”狼见此计不成，又说道，“你去年的今天为什么说我的坏话？”“不可能，”小羊说，“我现在才只有六个月大。”　　●“我不管，”狼说，“如果不是你，就是你的爸爸。”说完，他就冲向小山羊，把他吃掉了。　

5  The man and his two wives　　A middle-aged man had two wives. One was old, and the other was young. They both loved him very much.　　Now the man's hair was turning grey. The young wife felt unhappy about this because it made him look too old. 　　So every night she used to comb his hair and pick out the white ones. But the elder wife was glad to see her husband growing grey, for she did not want to be mistaken for his mother. So every morning she used to comb his hair and pick out the black ones. 　　The consequence was the man soon found himself entirely bald.  白发男人与他的太太们　　●一个中年男人有两个妻子，一个年轻，一个年老，她们都非常地爱他。　　●当男人的头发渐渐变得灰白时，年轻太太感到很不高兴，因为这使他看起来显得很老。于是，她每晚帮他梳头时都拔去一些白发。　　●但是，年老的太太很高兴他的男人变老，因为这样自己就不会被错认为是他的妈妈了。于是，每天早晨帮他梳头时都拔去一些黑发。　　●结果，不久后男人发现自己变成了秃子。　　寓意: 遇到压力的时候，我们不能一味地退让，否则很快会无处可退。

6  The dove and the ant　　An ant was drinking at a river. Suddenly he slipped, and fell into the water. 　　A dove took pity on him. She threw a small branch into the river. The ant seized the bough, and swam back to the shore. 　　A few days later, the ant saw a hunter aiming a gun at the dove. He bit the man in the foot sharply. 　　The man missed the shot, and the dove's life was saved. 　　The dove felt very grateful. She made good friends with the ant. 鸽子和蚂蚁 　　●一只蚂蚁到河边饮水，却不幸掉入河中。　　●一只鸽子看见，扔下一段树枝，将他救起。　　●过了不久，蚂蚁看见猎人正在拿枪瞄准鸽子，就狠狠地朝他脚上咬了口，没让他打中。　　●鸽子非常感激蚂蚁。从此，他们成了好朋友。

7  The ass in the lion's skin　　An ass once found a lion's skin. He put it on, and walked towards the village. 　　All fled when he came near,both men and animals. 　　The ass felt quite proud. He lifted his voice and brayed, but then everyone knew him. 　　His owner came up and gave him a sound whipping.　　Shortly afterwards,a fox came up to him and said, "Ah, I knew it was you by your voice."  披着狮皮的驴　　●有头驴发现一张狮子皮，他披着狮子皮走进村庄。　　●所有的人和动物见到他走过来都逃走了。　　●驴感到很得意，他高声地嘶叫，却被人认了出来。他的主人跑过来打了他一顿。　　●不久，一只狐狸也跑过来，对他说：“哦，你一张嘴我就知道你是驴。”　　寓意: 外表虽然可以暂时掩盖一个人的缺点，但它很容易被揭穿。

8  The frogs and the well　　Two frogs lived together in a marsh. One hot summer the marsh dried up, so they had to leave it and look for another place. 　　They soon found a deep well. 　　One of them looked down and said to the other, "This is a nice cool place. Let's jump in and settle down here." 　　The other frog was much wiser. He replied, "Don’t be so fast, my friend. If this well dries up like the marsh, how should we get out again?"  青蛙和井　　●两只青蛙住在沼泽里。在一个炎热的夏季，沼泽干涸了，因此他们不得不离开去寻找新的湿地。　　●他们很快发现一口深井。　　●其中一只向下看了看对另一只说：“这是个凉爽的好地方，就住这里吧。”　　●而另一只较明智，它说：“别着急，朋友，如果这口井也干了的话,我们怎么出来呢？　　寓意: 凡事应该首先考虑周到，然后再付诸行动。

9　The milkmaid and her pail　　A milkmaid was going to the market. She carried her milk in a pail on her head.　　As she went along she began calculating what she would buy after she had sold the milk.　　"I'll buy a new dress, and when I go to the ball, all the young men will dance with me!"　　As she spoke she tossed her head back. The pail immediately fell off her head, and all the milk was spilt. 　　The girl went back without anything. She felt very sad. "Ah, my child," said her mother. "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched." 挤牛奶的姑娘 　　●一个农家挤奶姑娘头顶着一桶牛奶，前往集市。　　●走了一会儿，她开始算计起卖完牛奶后要买的东西：“我要买一身新衣服，好去参加舞会，年轻的小伙子都会邀请我跳舞。”　　●想到这里，她真地摇起头来，牛奶桶随之倾倒在地，牛奶都流了出去。　　●女孩很伤心，两手空空地回到家里，母亲对她说：“我的孩子，不要过早地打如意算盘。”  　寓意: 不要过早地打如意算盘。