The Fox and the Cat

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

　　It happened that the cat met Mr. Fox in the woods. She thought, "He is intelligent and well experienced, and is highly regarded in the world," so she spoke¹ to him in a friendly manner, "Good-day, my dear Mr. Fox. How is it going? How are you? How are you getting by in these hard times?"

　　The fox, filled with arrogance², examined the cat from head to feet, and for a long time did not know whether he should give an answer. At last he said, "Oh, you poor beard-licker, you speckled fool, you hungry mouse hunter, what are you thinking? Have you the nerve to ask how I am doing? What do you know? How many tricks do you understand?"

　　"I understand but one," answered the cat, modestly.

　　"What kind of a trick is it?" asked the fox.

　　"When the dogs are chasing me, I can jump into a tree and save myself."

　　"Is that all?" said the fox. "I am master of a hundred tricks, and in addition to that I have a sackful of cunning. I feel sorry for you. Come with me, and I will teach you how one escapes from the dogs."

　　Just then a hunter came by with four dogs. The cat jumped nimbly up a tree, and sat down at its top, where the branches and foliage³ completely hid her.

　　"Untie⁴ your sack, Mr. Fox, untie your sack," the cat shouted to him, but the dogs had already seized him, and were holding him fast.

　　"Oh, Mr. Fox," shouted the cat. "You and your hundred tricks are left in the lurch⁵. If you been able to climb like I can, you would not have lost your life."

　一只猫在森林里遇到一只狐狸，心想：「他又聪明，经验又丰富，挺受人尊重的。」於是它很友好地和狐狸打招呼：「日安，尊敬的狐狸先生，您好吗？这些日子挺艰难的，您过得怎么样？」狐狸傲慢地将猫从头到脚地打量了一番，半天拿不定主意是不是该和它说话。最后它说：「哦，你这个倒霉的长着鬍子、满身花纹的傻瓜、饥肠辘辘地追赶老鼠的傢伙，你会啥？有甚么资格问我过得怎么样？你都学了点甚么本事？」「我只有一种本领。」猫谦虚地说。「甚么本领？」狐狸问。「有人追我的时候，我会爬到树上去藏起来保护自己。」「就这本事？」狐狸不屑地说：「我掌握了上百种本领，而且还有满口袋计谋。我真觉得你可怜，跟着我吧，我教你怎么从追捕中逃生。」

　　就在这时，猎人带着四条狗走近了。猫敏捷地窜到一棵树上，在树顶上蹲伏下来，茂密的树叶把它遮挡得严严实实。「快打开你的计谋口袋，狐狸先生，快打开呀！」猫冲着狐狸喊道。可是猎狗已经将狐狸扑倒咬住了。「哎呀，狐狸先生，」猫喊道，「你的千百种本领就这么给扔掉了！假如你能像我一样爬树就不至於丢了性命了！」