Long ago, there was a big cat in the house. He caught many mice while they were stealing food.
从前,一所房子里面有一只大猫,他抓住了很多偷东西的老鼠。
One day the mice had a meeting to talk about the way to deal with their common enemy.
一天,老鼠在一起开会商量如何对付他们共同的敌人。
Some said this, and some said that. At last a young mouse got up, and said that he had a good idea.
会上大家各有各的主张,最后,一只小老鼠站出来说他有一个好主意。
"We could tie a bell around the neck of the cat. Then when he comes near, we can hear the sound of the bell, and run away."
“我们可以在猫的脖子上绑一个铃铛,那么如果他来到附近,我们听到铃声就可以马上逃跑。”
Everyone approved of this proposal, but an old wise mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but who will tie the bell to the cat?" The mice looked at each other, but nobody spoke.
The hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never been beaten," he said, "when I run at full speed, no one is faster than me."
兔子向动物们夸耀他的速度,“我从来没有失败过,”他说,“当我奔跑时,没有人比我更快。”
The tortoise said quietly, "I will race with you." "That is a good joke," said the hare. "I could dance around you the whole way."
乌龟平静地说:“我要与你比赛。”“真是笑话,我可以边玩边和你赛跑。”兔子说。
The race started. The hare darted almost out of sight at once. He soon stopped and lay down to have a nap.
The tortoise plodded on and on. When the hare awoke from his nap, he saw the tortoise was near the finish line, and that he had lost the race.
乌龟慢腾腾地却持续不停地走,当兔子一觉醒来,他看到乌龟已经快到终点线了。兔子输了比赛。
There was a big fight between the birds and the beasts. The bat did not join in the fight.
鸟与野兽宣战,蝙蝠没有参战。
Some birds said to the bat, "Come with us." But he replied, "I am a beast."
鸟对蝙蝠说:“加入我们吧。”蝙蝠回答说:“我是野兽。”
Later on, some beasts said to him, "Come with us." But he replied, "I am a bird."
后来,一些野兽对蝙蝠说:“加入我们吧。”但是蝙蝠回答说:“我是鸟。”
At last the fighting ended peacefully. The bat first went to the birds, and wanted to join in the celebration, but they all turned against him. He then went to the beasts, but was also driven away.
A lion once fell in love with a beautiful girl, so he went to her parents and asked them to marry her to him.
一只狮子爱上了一位美丽的女孩儿,便找到她的父母向她求婚。
The old parents did not know what to say. They did not like the idea of giving their daughter to the lion, but they did not want to enrage the king of beasts.
女孩儿的父亲不知道该如何回答,他不忍将女儿许配给野兽,但又害怕激怒这兽中之王。
At last the father said, "We are glad to marry our daughter to you, but we fear that you might possibly hurt her. So if you remove your claws and teeth, we will give her to you."
The lion loved the girl very much, so he trimmed his claws and took out his big teeth. When he came to the parents again, they simply laughed in his face, and beat him out of their house.