The Frog in the Shallow Well(井底之蛙)
Have you heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water,it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. I’m happy. My dear sir, why don"t you come over and look around my place?"
Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea.
"Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea"s width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. In the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea."
After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.
The Wolf And The Lion(驕傲的狼)
As a lion was bigger and stronger than a wolf, he often snatched the wolf's prey. Thus, the wolf always thought, "If I could be stronger than him, I could fight against him."
One day, the wolf kept walking on grassland till sunset. Suddenly, he found his own shadow was long and big.
He thought he had become strong, so he happily said, "Thank God. You make me stronger than the lion." So, he went to the lion and yelled, "Come out. Let's fight. Now, I'm stronger than you. I'm not afraid of you any more."
The lion walked out and saw the wolf challenging him.
Thus, the lion roared and jumped onto the wolf. They had a big fight and the wolf was totally beaten and ran away quickly.
The swallows and sparrows are very pleased to find a place on the roof of the hall for their nests.
The mother birds are feeding their babies with pleasure, which assumes a scene of peace and harmony.
But they have never thought of the following scene: the chimney at the top of the kitchen might break, the fire might leap up to the roof and the burning purling might destroy their nests.
But those swallows and sparrows are unmindful of the coming disaster.
They go on with their superficial happiness brought by peace and calm.
燕雀處室
燕雀為擁有屋頂下面的一個(gè)位置而欣慰不已。
母鳥(niǎo)用叼來(lái)的食物喂養(yǎng)啁啾鳴叫的幼鳥(niǎo)，整個(gè)兒是一派歡樂(lè)自得的祥和景象。
它們完全沒(méi)有考慮到：爐灶上的煙囪有可能會(huì)炸裂，火苗將會(huì)竄上屋梁，燒著的椽 將會(huì)摧毀它們的巢穴。
不知大禍將要降臨到自己頭上的燕雀?jìng)冋诎踩蛔匀舻仄肺哆@表面上的安寧所帶來(lái)的幸福。
Long ago a great mountain began to rumble and shake .
People came from far and near to see what would happen.
"A great river will be born." said one.
"Surely nothing less than a mighty dragon will come out." said another.
"A god himself will spring form these rocks." said a third.
Finally , after days of expectation a small crack appeared in the mountain. And out popped ---- a mouse.
Just because someone makes a lot of fuss, it doesn't mean he is important.
山
很久以前，一座大山隆隆作響，搖晃起來(lái)。遠(yuǎn)近各處的人都來(lái)看是怎么回事。
一個(gè)人說(shuō)："要出現(xiàn)一條大河了。"
另一個(gè)人說(shuō)："準(zhǔn)會(huì)出現(xiàn)一條巨龍。"
第三個(gè)人說(shuō)："從這些巖石中會(huì)出現(xiàn)一尊神來(lái)。"
等了幾天之后，山坡上終于裂開(kāi)一條小縫，卻蹦出來(lái)一只耗子。
正因?yàn)槟橙舜笏翉垞P(yáng)，所以他沒(méi)有什么了不起。
A lion had come to the end of his days. He lay helpless under a tree.
The animals came around him. When they saw that he was going to die, they thought to themselves, "Now is the time to pay him back."
So the boar came up and rushed at him with his tusks.
Then a bull gored him with his horns. The lion still lay helpless before them.
So the ass felt quite safe. He turned his tail to the lion and kicked up his heels into his face.
"This is a double death." growled the lion.