The Farmer and the Stork¹农夫和鹳    

A FARMER placed nets on his newly-sown plowlands and caught  a number of Cranes, which came to pick up his seed. With them he  trapped a Stork that had fractured his leg in the net and was   earnestly beseeching² the Farmer to spare his life. "Pray save  me, Master," he said, "and let me go free this once. My broken  limb should excite your pity. Besides, I am no Crane, I am a Stork,  a bird of excellent character; and see how I love and slave for my   father and mother. Look too, at my feathers-- they are not the least  like those of a Crane." The Farmer laughed aloud and said, "It may  be all as you say, I only know this: I have taken you with these   robbers, the Cranes, and you must die in their company."    

Birds of a feather flock together.       

农夫在刚刚播种的田里布下许多网，许多来吃种子的鹤都被捉住了，并捉到一只鹳，鹳 的腿被网折断了，它哀求农夫说：“饶了我吧，可怜可怜我吧。我又不是鹤，而是一只鹳， 我是性情优美的鸟。你瞧，我多么孝顺父母，为他们辛勤劳作，再仔细看看我的羽毛，与鹤 也完全不同。”农夫大笑说：“你说的话也许不错；但我只知道，你和这些偷吃种子的鹤一 起被捉到，那末你就得和他们一起死。”     

这是说人们切莫与坏人交朋友。  

The Farmer and the Snake农夫与蛇    

ONE WINTER a Farmer found a Snake stiff and frozen with cold.  He had compassion³ on it, and taking it up, placed it in his bosom⁴.   The Snake was quickly revived by the warmth, and resuming its  natural instincts, bit its benefactor⁵, inflicting⁶ on him a mortal  wound. "Oh," cried the Farmer with his last breath, "I am rightly   served for pitying a scoundrel."    

The greatest kindness will not bind⁷ the ungrateful.       

冬天，农夫发现一条蛇冻僵了，他很可怜它，便把蛇放在自己怀里。蛇温暖后，苏醒了 过来，恢复了它的本性，咬了它的恩人一口，使他受到了致命的伤害。农夫临死前说：“我 该死，我怜悯恶人，应该受恶报。”     

这故事说明，即使对恶人仁至义尽，他们的邪恶本性也是不会改变的。  

The Fawn⁸ and His Father小鹿与他的父亲    

A YOUNG FAWN once said to his Father, "You are larger than a  dog, and swifter, and more used to running, and you have your   horns as a defense⁹; why, then, O Father! do the hounds frighten  you so?"  He smiled, and said: "I know full well, my son, that all you say  is true. I have the advantages you mention, but when I hear even  the bark of a single dog I feel ready to faint, and fly away as  fast as I can."    

No arguments will give courage to the coward.     有一天，小鹿对公鹿说道，“父亲，你怎么还怕狗呢？你比他高大，比他跑得更快，而 且还有很大的角用于自卫。”公鹿笑着说：“孩儿，你说得都对，可我只知道一点，一听到 狗的叫声，我就会不由自主地立刻逃跑。”    

 这故事说明，激励那些天生胆小、软弱的人毫无用处。