There was once an ant that was very thirsty.

有只蚂蚁口渴了。

 

It ran here and there looking for some water but could not find any.

它到处找水喝，可就是找不着。

 

Then suddenly, when the ant was almost ready to die of thirst, a large drop of water fell on it.

突然，就在蚂蚁快要渴死的时候，一大滴水落了下来。

 

The Ant drank the water, which saved its life.

蚂蚁喝了水，得了救。

 

The water was actually a tear from a young girl who was crying.

这滴水实际上是一个正在哭泣的年轻姑娘的泪水。

 

The ant looked up and saw the young girl sitting in front of a huge pile of seeds.

蚂蚁抬起头，看见一个年轻姑娘正坐在一大堆种子前。

 

"Why are you sad?" asked the Ant.

“你为什么这么伤心啊？”蚂蚁问道.

 

"I'm the prisoner¹ of a giant, "the girl told the ant. "He won't let me go until I've made three separate² heaps³ of grain, barley⁴ and rye out of this huge pile of seeds in which they are all mixed together."

“我是一个巨人的囚犯，”姑娘告诉蚂蚁，“这大堆种子里夹杂有谷子，大麦和黑麦的种子，我只有把它们分开，拣成三堆，他才肯放我走。”

 

"That will take you a month!" the ant said, looking at the huge pile of seeds.

“这需要你一个月的时间呢！”蚂蚁看了看这大堆的种子说道。

 

"I know," the girl cried, "and if I haven't finished by tomorrow, the giant will eat me for his supper!"

“我知道，”姑娘哭着说，“如果我明天还分不完，巨人就会把我当他的晚餐吃掉！”

 

"Don't cry," the ant said, "my friends and I will help you."

“不要哭，”蚂蚁说，“我和我的朋友会帮助你的。”

 

Soon thousands of ants were at work, separating⁵ the three kinds of seeds.

很快，成千上万只蚂蚁忙碌起来，将这些种子按分类分成三堆。

 

The next morning, when the giant saw that the work had been done, he let the girl go.

第二天早晨，巨人看到分派给姑娘的活儿干完了，就把她给放了。

 

And thus it was that one of her tears saved her life.

就这样，正是那个姑娘的一滴泪救了她自己的性命。

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