One day, an owl¹ flew persistently² towards the east till it was completely exhausted³, so it stopped in a forest to take a rest. It happened that a turtledove was also resting there. Hearing the panting of the owl, it asked: "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

 

The owl said: "I am moving to the east."

 

The turtledove asked closely: "Why?"

 

 The owl said: "The people in the west all say my cry is unpleasant and dislike me I cannot stay there any longer. I must move to a new place."

 

 The turtledove said: "Can you solve your problem by changing a place? In my opinion, no matter where you move to, it won't help."

 

The owl felt rather angry at the words of the turtledove, but it still asked in surprise: "Can you forecast the future?"

 

The turtledove said: "This is very simple. If you don't change your cry, the people in the east will dislike you all the same."

 

一天，猫头鹰一个劲儿地向东方飞去，飞得精疲力尽，停在树林里休息。一只斑鸿恰巧也在那里休息，听见猫头鹰呼味呼味地喘气，就对猫头鹰说：“你这样急急忙忙地赶路，去哪儿呀？”

 

猫头鹰说：“我想到东方去住。”

 

斑鸡追问：“为什么？”

 

猫头鹰说：“西边的人，都说我叫的声音很难听，都讨厌我。在那儿我住不下去了，非换个地方不可！”

 

斑鸿说：“难道换个地方就可以解决问题吗？我看，不管你搬到哪里去，都没有用！”

 

猫头鹰觉得斑坞的话太气人，便惊奇地问：“你能未卜先知？”

 

斑鸡说：“这很简单，如果你不改变你的叫声，那么东边的人也一样会讨厌你的！”

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