双语儿童寓言故事
The Kingdom of the Lion狮子国王
THE BEASTS of the field and forest had a Lion as their king. He was neither wrathful, cruel, nor tyrannical, but just and gentle as a king could be. During his reign he made a royal proclamation for a general
assembly of all the birds and beasts, and drew up conditions for a universal league, in which the Wolf and the Lamb, the Panther and the Kid, the Tiger and the Stag, the Dog and the Hare, should live together in
perfect peace and amity. The Hare said, "Oh, how I have longed to see this day, in which the weak shall take their place with impunity by the side of the strong." And after the Hare said this, he ran for his life.
有只狮子做了国王，他善良、温和，与人一样和平、公正。在他的统治下，惩恶扬善， 裁决动物之间的纠纷，使所有的动物和睦相处。胆小的兔子说：“我祈祷能得到这样的日 子，那时弱者就不怕被强者伤害了。” 然后赶紧逃命去了。
《公鸡和宝玉》
A COCK, scratching for food for himself and his hens, found a precious stone and exclaimed: "If your owner had found thee, and not I, he would have taken thee up, and have set thee in thy first estate; but I have found
thee for no purpose. I would rather have one barleycorn than all the jewels in the world."
一只公鸡在田野里为自己和母鸡们寻找食物。他发现了一块宝玉，便对宝玉说：“若不 是我，而是你的主人找到了你，他会非常珍惜地把你捡起来;但我发现了你却毫无用处。我 与其得到世界上一切宝玉，倒不如得到一颗
麦子好。”
这是说自己需要的东西才是真正珍贵的。
《老人与死神》
An old man was gathering sticks in a forest.
At last he grew very tired and hopeless. He threw down all the sticks and cried out, "I cannot bear this life any longer. Ah, I wish Death would come and take me!"
As he spoke, Death appeared, and said to him, "What would you do, old man? I heard you call me."
"Please, sir," replied the old man, "would you help me lift this bundle of sticks up to my shoulder?"
译文
老人与死神
有个老人在森林中砍了不少柴，十分吃力地挑着走了很远的路。
一路上他累极了，实在挑不动了，便扔下柴担，叫喊起来：“这种日子我受不了了，死神啊，带我走吧。”
这时，死神来了，对他说：“老头，你想做什么，我听见你叫我?”
“先生”，老人说，“您能帮忙将那担子放在我的肩上吗?”
寓意
即使生活不幸，人们仍需爱惜生命。
《乌鸦喝水》
A crow, ready to die with thirst, flew with joy to a pitcher which he saw at a distance. But when he came up to it, he found the water so low that with all his stooping and straining he was unable to reach it. Thereupon he tried to bread the pitcher, then to overturn it, seeing some small pebbles at hand, he dropped a great many of them, one by one, into the pitcher, and so raised the water to the brim, and quenched his thirst.
译 文
一只快渴死的乌鸦，远远地看见一只水壶，就高兴地飞了过去，但是当他飞到的时候发现壶里的水浅得怎么用力弯腰伸颈也够不着，于是他试着把水壶打破，又试着把他推倒。但是力量不足，都做不到，最后看见近边有许多小石子，他一个个地把很多石子丢进了水壶，这样使水上升到壶口，就解了渴。
寓 意
遇到困难的时候动脑筋。
