A stag, chased from his lair¹ by the hounds, took refuge in a farmyard, and, entering a stable where a number of oxen were stalled, thrust himself under a pile of hay in a vacant stall, where he lay concealed², all but the tips of his horns. Presently one of the oxen said to him, "What has induced you to come in here? Aren't you aware of the risk you are running of being captured by the herdsmen?" To which he replied, "Pray let me stay for the present. When night comes I shall easily escape under cover of the dark."

 

In the course of the afternoon more than one of the farm-hands came in, to attend to the wants of the cattle, but not one of them noticed the presence of the stag, who accordingly began to congratulate himself on his escape and to express his gratitude³ to the oxen. "We wish you well," said the one who had spoken before, "but you are not out of danger yet. If the master comes, you will certainly be found out, for nothing ever escapes his keen eyes."

 

Presently, sure enough, in he came, and made a great to-do about the way the oxen were kept. "The beasts are starving," he cried; "here, give them more hay, and put plenty of litter under them." As he spoke⁴, he seized an armful himself from the pile where the stag lay concealed, and at once detected him. Calling his men, he had him seized at once and killed for the table.

 

一只雄鹿被猎狗赶出了巢，只得躲进一个农家小院里。他闯进一个满是公牛的牛棚里，拼命挤进空牛栏的干草堆中，藏了起来，但是他的鹿角却一直藏在外面。不久，一头公牛对他说：“是什么原因让你到这里来自投罗网呢？呆在这里很危险，会被牧人抓走的。你知不知道？”雄鹿回答说：“求求你，就让我在这里呆一会儿吧。当夜幕降临后，我就能有机会在黑暗中逃走了”。

 

整个下午都很平安，虽然有几个雇工来牛棚照料牛群，但是没有一个人注意到雄鹿的存在，雄鹿一边暗自庆幸可以平安逃走，一边对公牛表示感激。“我们都希望你能平安，”先前和雄鹿讲话的那头公牛又开口了，“但是，你还没能完全脱离危险。如果主人来了，你可能就会被发现，因为没有什么能逃出他的眼睛。”

 

正说着，农场主来了，开始抱怨工人没有照料好牛群。“牲口都饿着呢，”他大喊道，“这里再多加点干草，要给他们足够的铺垫。”他一边说着话，一边查看雄鹿躲身的干草堆，立刻认出了雄鹿。于是，他叫来帮工，立刻抓住雄鹿并杀死它美餐一顿。

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