Once there were two mice. They were friends. One mouse lived in the country; the other mouse lived in the city. After many years the Country mouse saw the City mouse; he said, "Do come and see me at my house in the country." So the City mouse went. The City mouse said, "This food is not good, and your house is not good. Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have nice food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city."
The Country mouse went to the house of the City mouse. It was a very good house. Nice food was set ready for them to eat. But just as they began to eat they heard a great noise. The City mouse cried, " Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They ran away quickly and hid.
After some time they came out. When they came out, the Country mouse said, "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 afraid."
Little Robert asked his mother for two cents. "What did you do with the money I gave you yesterday?" "I gave it to a poor old woman," he answered. "You're a good boy," said the mother proudly. "Here are two cents more. But why are you so interested in the old woman?" "She is the one who sells the candy."
An avid duck hunter was in the market for a new bird dog. His search ended when he found a dog that could actually walk on water to retrieve a duck. Shocked by his find, he was sure none of his friends would believe him.
He decided to try to break the news to his most skeptical friend, inviting him to hunt with him and his new dog. As they waited by the shore, a flock of ducks flew by; they fired, and a duck fell.
The Thirsty Pigeon口渴的鸽子 A PIGEON, oppressed by excessive thirst, saw a goblet of water painted on a signboard. Not supposing it to be only a picture, she flew towards it with a loud whir and unwittingly dashed against the signboard, jarring herself terribly. Having broken her wings by the blow, she fell to the ground, and was caught by one of the bystanders. Zeal should not outrun discretion. 有只鸽子口渴得很难受,看见画板上画着一个水瓶,以为是真的。他立刻呼呼地猛飞过 去,不料一头碰撞在画板上,折断了翅膀,摔在地上,被人轻易地捉住了。 这是说,有些人想急于得到所需的东西,一时冲动,草率从事,就会身遭不幸。 The Raven and the Swan乌鸦和天鹅 A RAVEN saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage. Supposing that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his washing in the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighborhood where he picked up his living, and took up residence in the lakes and pools. But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could not change their color, while through want of food he perished. Change of habit cannot alter Nature. 乌鸦非常羡慕天鹅洁白的羽毛。他猜想天鹅一定是经常洗澡,羽毛才变得如此洁白无 瑕。于是,他毅然离开了他赖以生存的祭坛,来到江湖边。他天天洗刷自己的羽毛,不但一 点都没洗白,反而因缺少食物饥饿而死。 这故事是说,人的本性不会随着生活方式的改变而改变。 The Goat and the Goatherd 山羊与牧羊人 A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled and sounded his horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the summons. At last the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn, begged the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied, "Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speak though I be silent." Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid. 很多山羊被牧羊人赶到羊圈里。有一只山羊不知在吃什么好东西,单独落在后面。牧羊 人拿起一块石头扔了过去,正巧打断了山羊的一只角。牧羊人吓得请求山羊不要告诉主人, 山羊说:“即使我不说,又怎能隐瞒下去呢?我的角已断了,这是十分明显的事实。” 这故事说明,明显的罪状是无法隐瞒的。
1、简单英语小故事——老人和老猫 An old man has a cat. The cat is very old, too. He runs very quickly. And his teeth are bad. One evening, the old cat sees a little mouse. He catches it, but he can’t eat it because his teeth are not strong enough. The mouse runs away. The old man is very angry. He beats his cat. He says: “You are a fool cat. I will punish you!” the cat is very sad. He thinks:“When I was young, I worked hard for you. Now you don’t like me because I’m too old to work. You should know you are old, too.” 一个年迈的老人养一只猫。这只猫也非常老了。她跑得很快,但是牙齿很糟糕。一天王还是那个,这只老猫看见一只小老鼠。它抓住了小老鼠,但是它却吃不了它,因为它的牙齿不够锋利了。这只小老鼠逃跑了。 老人很生气,他打了小猫,并且对它说:“你这只蠢猫!我要惩罚你!”猫非常伤心,它想:“在我还年轻的时候,我为你努力工作。现在你却因为我太老了不能工作而不喜欢我。你应该知道你也老了。” 2、英语小故事——驴子与蚱蜢 AN 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 live only upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger. 驴子听见蚱蜢唱歌,被美妙动听的歌声所打动,自己也想能发出同样悦耳动听的声音,便 羡慕地问他们吃些什么,才能发出如此美妙的声音来。蚱蜢答道:“吃露水。”驴子便也只吃露水,没多久就饿死了。这个故事告诉人们不要企望非份之物。 3、英语小故事——三个好朋友 One day, a monkey rides his bike near the river. This time he sees a lion under a tree. The lion runs at him. He is afraid and falls into the river. He can’t swim. He shouts. The rabbit hears him. He jumps into the river. The rabbit swims to the monkey, but he can’t help him. Luckily, an elephant comes along. He is very strong. He helps the rabbit and monkey. Three friends are very happy. They go to the elephant’s home. Then, three of them become good friends. 一天, 一只猴子在河边骑车。这时他看见树下有一只狮子,狮子向他跑来。他非常的害怕,掉进河里。他不会游泳,大叫起来。兔子听见了,跳进水里,但他却没有办法救猴子。幸运的是,一只大象过来了。大象非常强壮,救出了兔子和猴子。他们来到大象的家,在那里吃了一顿大餐。从此他们成了好朋友。