The Traveler and His Dog旅行者和他的狗 

A TRAVELER about to set out on a journey saw his Dog stand at the door stretching himself. He asked him sharply: "Why do you stand there gaping¹? Everything is ready but you, so come with me instantly." The Dog, wagging his tail, replied: "O, master! I am quite ready; it is you for whom I am waiting." 

The loiterer often blames delay on his more active friend. 

一个人打点好了行装准备出发。这时，他看见他的狗仍站在门口打呵欠，便严厉地对它 说：“为什么你还站在那里打呵欠？一切准备妥当，只等你了，赶快跟我走吧！”狗摇着尾 巴回答说：“主人！我早就准备好了，我等你等得都打呵欠了。” 

这是说有些人不检点自己，还常常把过失归咎于别人。 

The Dog and the Shadow狗和自已的影子 

A DOG, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water and took it for that of another Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He immediately let go of his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both: that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow; and his own, because the stream swept it away. 狗叼着肉渡过一条河。他看见水中自己的倒影，还以为是另一条狗叼着一块更大的肉。 想到这里，他决定要去抢那块更大的肉。于是，他扑到水中抢那块更大的。结果，他两块肉 都没得到，水中那块本来就不存在，原有那块又被河水冲走了。 

这故事适用于贪婪的人。 

The Mole² and His Mother小鼹鼠和妈妈 

A MOLE, a creature blind from birth, once said to his Mother: "I am sure than I can see, Mother!" In the desire to prove to him his mistake, his Mother placed before him a few grains of frankincense, and asked, "What is it?' The young Mole said, "It is a pebble³." His Mother exclaimed: "My son, I am afraid that you are not only blind, but that you have lost your sense of smell. 传说鼹鼠的眼睛是瞎的，可小鼹鼠却对妈妈说他能看得见。妈想试验他一下，便拿来一 小块香喷喷的食物，放在他面前，并问他是什么。他说是一颗小石头。母亲说：“啊，不幸 的孩子，你不但眼睛看不见，连鼻子也没用了。” 这故事是说，那些爱吹牛说大话的人，常常夸海口能做大事，却在一些微不足道的事情 上暴露了本质。 

The Herdsman and the Lost Bull牧人和丢失的牛 

A HERDSMAN tending his flock in a forest lost a Bull-calf⁴ from the fold. After a long and fruitless search, he made a vow⁵ that, if he could only discover the thief who had stolen the Calf, he would offer a lamb in sacrifice to Hermes, Pan, and the Guardian⁶ Deities⁷ of the forest. Not long afterwards, as he ascended⁸ a small hillock, he saw at its foot a Lion feeding on the Calf. Terrified at the sight, he lifted his eyes and his hands to heaven, and said: "Just now I vowed⁹ to offer a lamb to the Guardian Deities of the forest if I could only find out who had robbed me; but now that I have discovered the thief, I would willingly add a full-grown Bull to the Calf I have lost, if I may only secure my own escape from him in safety." 牧人在树林中放牛，不幸丢失了一头离群的小牛犊。他在树林中到处寻找，一无所获。 他发誓，只要能发现偷小牛犊的贼，他愿意供奉树林守护神一只羊。过了一会儿，当他走上 小山丘时，忽然看见山下有只狮子正在吃他的小牛犊。他吓得举起双手，仰望着天空，向天 祈求说：“我刚发誓，如果捉到偷牛犊的贼，我愿供奉一只羊给树林守护神。现在那贼已发 现，我愿意失去那只小牛犊，并再添上一只大牛，只要我自己能安全逃离狮子。” 

这是说，有些人在强大的敌人面前吓破了胆，忘掉了自己的誓言。 

The Hare and the Tortoise乌龟与兔 

A HARE one day ridiculed¹⁰ the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race." The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented¹¹ to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing¹² after her fatigue¹³. Slow but steady wins the race. 乌龟与兔为他们俩谁跑得快而争论不休。于是，他们定好了比赛的时间和地点。比赛一 开始，兔觉得自己是天生的飞毛腿，跑得快，对比赛掉以轻心，躺在路旁睡着了。乌龟深知 自己走得慢，毫不气馁，不停地朝前奔跑。结果，乌龟超过了睡熟了的兔子，夺得了胜利的 奖品。 

这故事说明，奋发图强的弱者也能战胜骄傲自满的强者。