The Three Lazy Ones
A king had three sons whom he loved equally well, and he did not know which of them to appoint as king following his own death.
When the time came for him to die he called them to his bed and said, “Dear children, I have thought of something that I will reveal to you. The one of you is the laziest shall become king after me.”
The oldest one said, “Father, then the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so lazy that whenever I lie down to sleep, and a drop falls into my eyes, I will not even close them so that I can fall asleep.”
The second one said, “Father, the kingdom belongs to me, for I am so lazy that when I am sitting by the fire warming myself, I would rather let my heels burn up than to pull my legs back.”
The third one said, “Father, the kingdom is mine, for I am so lazy that if I were going to be hanged and already had the rope around my neck, and someone put into my hand a sharp knife with which to cut the rope, I would let myself be hanged rather than to lift my hand up to the rope.”
在一个遥远的地方,有一个国王,他有三个儿子,对每一个儿子他都非常喜爱,他不知道自己死后应该把王位传给他们三个中的哪一个。所以,当他快要死的时候,就把他们叫到身边说:“亲爱的孩子们,在我死后,你们三个中谁最懒,谁就继承我的王位。”老大说:“既然这样,这王位就是我的,因为我是最懒的儿子,当我躺下睡觉时,有任何东西落到我的眼睛里,我也懒得去擦掉,即使不能把眼睛闭上,我仍然会继续睡觉。”二儿子说:“爸爸,王位应该传给我,因为我是最懒的儿子。当我坐在火边取暖的时候,就是火燃到我的脚趾,我也懒得把腿收回来。”第三个儿子说:“爸爸,这王位是我的,因为我是你最懒的儿子,如果我就要被吊起来,绳子已经套在了脖子上,有人把一把锋利的小刀塞在我手里,要我切断绳子,我宁愿被吊起来也懒得抬起手把绳子割断。” 大家猜猜国王让谁继承王位:
A City mouse and a country mouse
There are two mice. They are friends. One mouse lives in the country,
while the other mouse lives in the city.
One day, the Country mouse says to the City mouse, \"Do come and see
me at my house in the country.\" The City mouse goes to visit his friend. After seeing what the country is like the City mouse says, \"The food here is
not good, and your house is not very nice. You must come and see me at my house in the city.\"
The Country mouse goes to the house of the City mouse. It is a very nice
house. The City mouse has nice food to eat. Just as they begin to eat, however, they hear a loud noise. The City mouse cries, \"Run! Run! The cat is coming!\" They run away quickly.
The Country mouse thinks to himself, \"I do not like living in the city. I like
living in my hole in the field. For it is nicer to be poor and happy, than to be rich and frightened.\"
城里老鼠和乡下老鼠的故事
有两只老鼠，他们是好朋友。一只老鼠住在乡下，另一只住在城里。 有一天，乡下老鼠对城里老鼠说：“你来我乡下的家里来参观参观吧。”于是
城里老鼠就去拜访它的朋友了。
而见到农村的那副景象之后，城里老鼠说：“这儿的食物可不怎么样，你的房
子也不好看。你应该到城里来我家看看。”
乡下老鼠就去城里老鼠家了。那是一座非常漂亮的房子。城里老鼠还有美味
的食物吃。当它们正要准备吃东西时，却听到了吵闹声。城里老鼠惊叫起来：“跑！跑！那猫在过来了！”它们便飞快地逃跑了。
乡下老鼠自忖着：“我可不喜欢住在城里。我还是喜欢住在我田间的洞穴里，
因为过得贫穷却高兴远比过得富裕却要担惊受怕来得好。”
THE LION AND THE MOUSE
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.” 1．狮和鼠
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。
后来狮子被几个猎人捉住，用粗绳捆绑倒在地上。老鼠听出是狮子的吼声，走来用牙齿咬断绳索，释放了它，并大声说：「你当时嘲笑我想帮你的忙，而且也不指望我有什么机会
报答。但是你现在知道了，就算是小老鼠，也能向狮子效劳的。」
A Little Horse Crossing the River 小马过河
There are an old horse and a little horse on a farm. One day the old horse asks the little horse to send the wheat to the mill. The little horse is very happy. He carries the wheat and runs toward the mill. But there is a river in front of the little horse. He stops and does not know what to do next. Just then Aunt Cow is passing by.
The little horse asks, “Aunt Cow, please tell me. Can I cross the river ”
Aunt Cow answers, “It is not deep, you can cross it.”
When the little horse begins to cross the river, a little squirrel shouts at him, “Little horse, don't cross it, you will be drowned. Yesterday one of my friends was drowned in this river.”
The little horse is very afraid. Finally he decides to go home and ask his mother.
The old horse asks, “Why do you take the wheat back What's wrong with you My child.”
The little horse answers sadly, “There is a river in front of me. Aunt Cow said it was not deep. But the little squirrel said it was deep. What shall I do ”
The old horse says, “My child, you should try to cross the river by yourself. If you do not try, how do you know the river is deep or not ”
The little horse carries the wheat and returns to the riverside. At last, he succeeds in crossing the river. Now, He knows how deep the river is.
小马过河
农场里有一只老马和一只小马，一天老马叫小马把麦子送到磨房。小马很开心，扛起了小麦就跑向了磨房。可有一条河挡住了去路，他停了下来不知如何是好，正在这时，奶牛大婶过来了。
小马问：“奶牛大婶，请告诉我，我能趟过这条河吗？”
奶牛大婶答道：“不深，你能过去。”
正当小马开始过河时，一只小松鼠朝他大喊：“小马，不要过河，你会淹死的。昨天我的一位朋友就在这河淹死了。”
小马非常害怕，最后决定回家问问妈妈。
老马问：“你为什么又把小麦扛回来了？你怎么了？我的孩子。”
小松鼠委屈地回答：“有一条河挡住我的去路。奶牛大婶说它不深，可小松鼠说它深。我该听谁的呀？”
老马说：“孩子，你应该自己试试，如果不试，你怎么知道河的深浅？”
小马驮着小麦又回到了河边。最后，他成功地渡过了河。他终于知道河有多深了。