寓言故事的语言不同于其他文学体裁，夸张但又独具幽默讽刺意味。
Once upon a time， there was a man who wanted to steal his neighbor’s doorbell。 However， he knew clearly that the bell would ring and catch the other people’s attention as long as he touched the bell。 So he thought hard and suddenly hit on a clever “idea”。 He plugged his ears with something， thinking that everything would go well when he stole the bell。 Unfortunately to his disappointment， the bell still rang loudly and he was caught on the spot as a thief。
从前，有一个人想偷邻居门上的铃，可是他明白一碰到铃，铃就会响起来，被人发现。他想啊想，最终他想出一个“妙极”，他把自我的耳朵用东西塞起来，就听不见铃声了。可是当他去偷铃时，铃声仍旧响起来，他被别人当场抓住 。
Father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarrelling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations,he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion;and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so,he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession,and ordered them to break it in pieces. They each tried with all their strength,and were not able to do it.
He next unclosed the faggot,and took the sticks separately,one by one,and again put them into their hands,on which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words:“My sons,if you are of one mind,and unite to assist each other,you will be as this faggot,uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies;but if you are divided among yourselves,you will be broken as easily as these sticks.”
【英文寓言故事集锦（5篇）】
Father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarrelling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations，he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion；and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so，he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession，and ordered them to break it in pieces. They each tried with all their strength，and were not able to do it.
He next unclosed the faggot，and took the sticks separately，one by one，and again put them into their hands，on which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words："My sons，if you are of one mind，and unite to assist each other，you will be as this faggot，uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies；but if you are divided among yourselves，you will be broken as easily as these sticks."
A Woodman came into a forest to ask the Trees to give him a handle for Ax. It seemed so modest a request that the principal tree at once agreed to it, and it was settled among them that the plain, homely Ash should furnish what was wanted.
No sooner had the Woodman fitted the staff to his purpose ，then he began laying about him on all side.Felling the whole matter too late, whispered to the Cedar: "the first concession has lost all ；if we has not a sacrificed our humble neighbor, we might have yet stood for ages ourselves."
有一个樵夫来到森林里，要求树给他一跟斧柄，看来他的请求非常谦虚，立刻得到了树的首领的同意。他们决定由平凡而朴素的白杨树来提供所需要的东西。
樵夫刚按好斧柄，就开始到处乱砍，森林里最高的树都砍倒了，树林现在察觉大势已去，就小声对衫树说："第一次的让步已失去了一切，如果我们不牺牲我们的小小的邻居，我们自己还可以活无数年呢。"
An old Japanese man kept a sparrow of which he was very fond. One day it flew away and the old man became sad.
一位上了年纪的日本人养了一只麻雀，他非常喜欢它。一天，麻雀飞走了
He went out looking all over the place for his sparrow At last, near a certain mountain, he met his sparrow.
老人很伤心，到处寻找。最后，在某一座高山附近，他遇到了麻雀。
The old man said joyously, "I missed you very much, sparrow. Will you follow me home? "
老人高兴地说：Ⅱ麻雀啊，我很想你，跟我回家吧！ ¨
Though the sparrow was happy to see the old man, it shook its head.
尽管麻雀见到老人很高兴，但它还是摇了摇头。
"Take me to your home and let me see how you live. "The old man pleaded. "I will go away happy to see if you are safe. "
那把我带到你的新家，让我看看你生活得怎样？ ¨老人请求道，¨如果你很安全，那我就可以安心地回家了。¨
So the sparrow led the old man to his home. There were many other birds.
于是麻雀把老人领到它的。家，那儿有好多其他乌儿，They all looked healthy and enjoyed each others company.
看起来都很健康，彼此相处得很愉快。
"I am glad you are well and have good companions, dear sparrow. I can go back in peace, " said the old man.
¨亲爱的麻雀，我很高兴你生活得很好，有那么多好同伴，我可以放心回去了。老人说。
When it was time for the old man to leave, the sparrow gave him a basket to take home with him as a present.
他正要离开时，麻雀给他一个篮子作为礼物让他带回家。
"Well, " said the old mans wife angrily when he returned, "where have you been all day? And what have you here? "
¨喂！ ¨老人回家后，妻子生气地说：¨你一整天都跑到哪儿去了？ 你拿的是什么？ ”
"I have been to the home of my lost sparrow and received this basket as a present, replied he.
¨我到我们失踪的麻雀家里去了，这篮子是麻雀送我的礼物。¨他回答道。
When she opened the basket sh6 was amazed to find it was full of gold and silver.
她打开篮子，惊讶地发现里面装满了金子和银子。
The old woman, who was very greedy, decided that she would like a basket of gold, so she set out for the sparrows home, Unlike the old man who was kind to the sparrow, the wife used to treat it very badly.
老妇人很贪心，觉得自己也应该有一篮子金子，于是她也到麻雀家去了。老妇人没有老人对麻雀那么好，她过去就一直虐待麻雀。
"Hello, sparrow, how are you? I missed you very much, " cried the old woman hypocritically.
¨嗨，麻雀，你好吗？ 我很想你！ ”老妇人虚伪地叫道。
The sparrow said nothing and she finally decided to go home.
麻雀什么也没说。最后老妇人决定回去，Still the sparrow did not give her any present she had hoped for.
麻雀也没给她想要的礼物。
Before she left, she unashamedly asked for a present. "My husband got a basket of gold and silver from you, " she reminded the bird.
但她离开前厚颜无耻地开口要礼物。 我家老头子以你这儿得到了一篮子金子和银子。"她提醒麻雀说。
"Alright, replied the sparrow, "for your husbands sake, I offer you two choices. One basket is light and the other is heavy.
“好吧！ 麻雀答道，看在你丈夫的面子上，我给你两个篮子供你选择，Just choose one. But you can only open the basket when you reach home! "
一个篮子轻，一个篮子重，你只能选一个，而且只能回家后才能打开。
The greedy old woman cried out, Ill take the heavy one, " as she thought its weight will contain more gold and silver. "Are you sure? " asked the sparrow.
贪心的老妇人叫道：“我要重的那一个。"因为她想重篮子里一定装了更多的金子和银子。 你确定要重的吗？ ¨麻雀问道。
"Yes. As sure as you see me standing before you! Ill take the heavy basket, " she replied. So the old woman panted and puffed breathlessly as she carried the heavy basket all the way.
¨是的，确定无疑。我要重篮子。¨她答道。于是，老妇人一路上背着重重的篮子，累得气喘吁吁。
But when she arrived home and opened the basket, it was full of stones.
但是，当她回家打开一看，里面全是石头。
James and John were good friends. For many years, James has had complete trust in John.
At the beginning, James invited John to manage his housekeeping, and when he was serving as a governor, he invited John to assist him with his business. Because James trusted John completely, he kept nothing from him.
James did not realize how despicable John was until John usurped all his property, which James dared not disclose, considering that John had gotten told of his demerits. Thedepressed James came to the Cheng Huang Temple, having no alternative, to vent his anger, and accused John for his wrongdoing.
At night, James dreamed that Cheng Huang asked him why he trusted John so much he thought for a long time, and replied, "Because he can make everything go as I have wished." Cheng Huang said, "Such a man is the most dangerous! You do not fear him but like him, making you the best choice for him to deceive?"
甲和乙是好朋友多年以来，甲对乙一直很信任。
开始是请乙管理家务。当甲官任巡抚时，又请乙协理公务，由于以对乙格外放心。
甲诸事都不提防。当自己的全部家产都被乙侵吞时，甲发现乙是一个卑鄙的小人，考虑到自己有把柄被乙捏住，甲还不敢声张，郁闷难申的甲为了发泄心中的。怒气，万般无奈的来到城隍庙，告了乙一状。
晚上，甲梦见城隍问自己为什么如此信任乙，甲思索半天，回答说：“因为他事事都能如我意。”城隍说：“这种人最可怕，你不怕他而喜欢他？他不骗你又能骗谁呢？”
英语寓言故事带翻译简短3:方舟济河
There were two boats sailing on the river. If an empty boat clashed into them at this time, the people on the boats would not be angry even they were narrow-minded.
But, under another circumstance, if that boat carried one or more people instead of being empty, the people on those two proceeding boats would definitely ask that boat to give way to them. Once not answered, they would call and ask again. At the third time, there would be some abusive words. Know why? They were angry and utter out such words because they knew there must be some people on that boat.
河面上并行着两支船。这时，如果有一只空船撞过来，即使是心胸狭窄之人，也不会有丝毫怒气。
但是，如果这次船上有人，那么，前行的两条船上的人一定会打招呼，要来人将船撑开。假如喊的一次对方不听，他们肯定会再喊一次，待到喊第三次，其中必定会有辱骂声相伴了，他们之所以前一次不生气而现在生气，是因为原来是空船而现在船上有人。
One day the mice had a meeting to talk about the way to deal with their common enemy. Somesaid this, and some said that.
At last a young mouse got up, and said that he had
a good idea.
“We could tie a bell around the neck of the cat. Then when he comes near, we can hear thesound of the bell, and run away.”
Everyone approved of this proposal, but an old wise mouse got up and said, “That is allvery well, but who will tie the bell to the cat?” The mice looked at each other, but nobodyspoke.
老鼠开会
从前，一所房子里面有一只大猫，他抓住了很多偷东西的老鼠。
一天，老鼠在一起开会商量如何对付他们共同的敌人。会上大家各有各的主张，最后，一只小老鼠站出来说他有一个好主意。
“我们可以在猫的脖子上绑一个铃铛，那么如果他来到附近，我们听到铃声就可以马上逃跑。”
大家都赞同这个建议，这时一只聪明的老耗子站出来说：“这的确是个绝妙的主意，但是谁来给猫的脖子上绑铃铛呢？”老鼠们面面相觑，谁也没有说话。
One day a crow stood on a branch near his nest and felt very happy with the meat in his mouth.
有一天，一只乌鸦站在窝旁的树枝上嘴里叼着一片肉，心里非常高兴。
At that time, a fox saw the crow with the meat, so he swallowed and eagerly thought of a plan to get the meat.
这时候，一只狐狸看见了乌鸦，馋得直流口水，非常想得到那片肉。
However, whatever the fox said to the crow, the crow just kept silent.
但是，无论狐狸说什么，乌鸦就是不理睬狐狸。
Until the fox thought highly of the crow’s beautiful voice, the crow felt flattered and opened his mouth to sing.
最后，狐狸赞美乌鸦的嗓音美，并要求乌鸦唱几句让他欣赏欣赏。乌鸦听了狐狸赞美的话，得意极了，就唱起歌来。
As soon as the meat fell down to the ground, the fox took the meat and went into his hole.
没想到，肉一掉下来，狐狸就叼起肉，钻回了洞。
An old woman heard that the young lady living next door had lost her earrings2, and went to comfort her.
The lady said light heartedly "It doesn't matter that the earrings are lost, for as long as the ears exist, there is nothing to regret."
The puzzled old woman asked, "Isn't your earring1 made of jade3? It is costly4! So costly a thing is lost, don't you regret it?" to which she replied, "Ears are valuable, not because they are adorned5 with earrings but because they have the ability to hear. To ears, it does not add or decrease anything, whether earring exists or not."
一位老太太听说邻居的少妇丢了耳环，便去安慰她。
少妇不以为然地说:“耳环丢了不算什么，只要耳朵还在就没什么可以遗憾的。”
老太太疑惑地问:“你的耳环不是玉石做的。吗？那东西很值钱的呀。这么值钱的东西丢了，你不感到可惜吗？”少妇回答说:“耳朵之所以宝贵，是因为它能听声音，而不是因为佩戴了值钱的耳环。耳环的存亡对于耳朵来说，并没有增加或者减少什么。”
一只雄鹰从天而降，袭击羊群，抓走了一只羔羊。
A male eagle descended from the sky and attacked the flock, capturing a lamb.
近旁有只乌鸦全看在了眼里，这场面引得它跃跃欲试。不过乌鸦这么思量：既然要抓，就要抓大的，否则不值得把爪子弄脏。看起来有时鹰也不是很厉害，难道羊群里全是小样吗？只要我想抓，我就直扑下去，抓一只真正的肥羊！”
There was a crow nearby who was all watching, and this scene made it eager to try. But the crow thought this way: since it wants to catch, it needs to catch larger ones, otherwise its not worth getting its paws dirty. It seems that eagles are not very powerful at times, are there all little ones in the flock? As long as I want to catch it, Ill go straight down and catch a real fat sheep
于是乌鸦飞临羊群上空，用贪婪的目光扫视羊群，在无数的小羊、母羊和公羊中观察、比较，终于选中了一头公羊，一头只有壮实的狼才对付得了的最肥、最大的公羊。
So the crow flew over the flock of sheep, scanning them with greedy eyes, observing and comparing among countless lambs, ewes, and rams. Finally, it chose a ram, the fattest and largest ram that only a strong wolf could handle.
乌鸦摆好架势，俯冲下去，使出全部力气死死抓住它的长毛。此时乌鸦才明白，这头公羊它是在对付不了。更糟糕的是，公羊的。毛乱蓬蓬，密匝匝，结成了无数疙瘩，竟使这位异想天开的乌鸦无法把爪子拔出。
The crow put on a good posture, dived down, and used all its strength to tightly grasp its long hair. At this moment, the crow realized that it was unable to deal with the ram. Even worse, the rams fur was disheveled and dense, forming countless knots that prevented the whimsical crow from pulling out its claws.
结果乌鸦雄心没有实现，自己反成了俘虏。牧羊人慢条斯理地解开缠住它的羊毛，为了不让它飞走，还剪去了它的翅膀，最后送给孩子们玩耍。
As a result, the crows ambition did not materialize and instead became a captive. The shepherd slowly untied the wool that was entangled with it, cut off its wings to prevent it from flying away, and finally gave it to the children to play with.
寓言启示：
Fable Inspiration:
人世间总有一些小滑头喜欢学大骗子，殊不知，江洋大盗往往能逃之夭夭，而小偷却常常挨揍。
There are always some cunning people in the world who like to learn from big scammers, but little do they know that big thieves can often escape, while thieves often get beaten up.
A great mountain大山
Long ago a great mountain began to rumble and shake.
People came from far and near to see what would happen.
”A great river will be born.“ said one.
”Surely nothing less than a mighty dragon will come out.“ said another.
”A god himself will spring form these rocks.“ said a third.
Finally, after days of expectation a small crack appeared in the mountain. And out popped --- a mouse.
Just because someone makes a lot of fuss, it doesn't mean he is important.
很久以前，一座大山隆隆作响，摇晃起来。远近各处的人都来看是怎么回事。
一个人说：”要出现一条大河了。“
另一个人说：”准会出现一条巨龙。“
第三个人说：”从这些岩石中会出现一尊神来。“
等了几天之后，山坡上终于裂开一条小缝，却蹦出来一只耗子。
正因为某人大肆张扬，所以他没有什么了不起。
Monkey and bear were good friends, today bear and monkey bear home together to pick apples, fable essay.
The two of them holding hands together came to the orchard, bear and monkey climbed up the tree to pick apples, the monkey quickly climbed up the tree, but the bear climbed to climb at a time when half of the slide down. Monkey see, smiled and said: “ then you still Apple below me to pick it. ” bear see monkey laughing himself suddenly fire up, said: “ what do you mean? You just don't think I can climb it, do you? ” “ no, I mean, you can't climb up. I'll help you pick the apple. You're down here. Is that all right? “&rdquo,” said the little monkey innocently. &ldquo? Don't you mean that? I can't climb up! I don't want you to help me! “&rdquo,” said the bear angrily. &ldquo, no, no, I'm not rare! ” the little monkey got angry, too. Grade five essay composition of fable. The little monkey walked away without looking back. Where was the bear trying to climb the tree again and again, but he never succeeded?. The little monkey, sulking at home, went to sleep. In the evening, even a bear are not apple picking, like home.
This story tells us that a good friend should not be because of a trifle and falling out, saying “ endure temporary calm, take a step as boundless as the sea and sky ” good friends should understand each other, is the.
A little bird fly to south for the winter. It was very cold, almost frozen bird. Hence, fly to a large space, after a cow there, in a pile of cow dung upon the bird, frozen bird lying on the dunghill, feel very warm, gradually recovered, it is warm and comfortable lying, and soon began to sing songs, a passing wildcat hear voices, see, follow the voice, wildcats quickly found lying on the dunghill, bird, pull it out.
The way of existence: not everyone to lead the dung upon your people are your enemy. Each of you is not from the dunghill lire people are your friends, and, when you lying on the dunghill, had better keep your mouth shut.
一只小鸟飞到南方去过冬。天很冷，小鸟几乎冻僵了。于是，飞到一大块空地上，一头牛经过那儿，拉了一堆牛粪在小鸟的身上，冻僵的小鸟躺在粪堆里，觉得很温暖，渐渐苏醒过来，它温暖而舒服的躺着，不久唱起歌来，一只路过的野猫听到声音，走过去看个究竟，循着声音，野猫很快发现了躺在粪堆里的小鸟，把它拽出来吃掉了。
生存之道：不是每个往你身上拉大粪的人都是你的敌人。也不是每个把你从粪堆里拉出来的人都是你的朋友，还有，当你躺在粪堆里时，最好把你的嘴闭上。
Laozi once went to visit the sick sage Shang Rong, and consulted him with somephilosophical problems.
Shang Rong told him that when he passed his hometown he should get off the chariot. Laozi asked, "Is this meant to show that I have not forget about the people in the hometown?"
Shang Rong nodded and added that when he passed an old tall tree he should walk fast in small paces. Laozi said, "Do you mean we should respect seniors?"
Shang Rong nodded again, and opened his mouth and asked, "Is my tongue still there?" "Yes"， Laizi repled. "Is my tongue still there?" "No," Laozi answered, "Do you know what this mean?" Shang Rong said. Laozi answered, "You are telling me that the teeth fell off early because of their hardness while the tongue lasts long because of its softness?""Exactly! You already know all priciples and truths in the world."
老子去探望病重的哲人商容，并请教有关的哲学问题。
商容告诉他在经过故乡时要下车，老子问道：“这是不是表示不忘记故乡的人？”
商容点点头，又说经过高大的老树要小步快走，老子回答说：“你的意思是说一定要尊敬老人？”
商容又点点头，然后张开口问道：“我的舌头还在吗？”老子说：“在”。商容又问：“我的牙齿还有吗？”老子说：“没有了。”商容说：“你知道这是什么意思吗？”老子说：“先生想告诉我牙齿因为刚硬而过早夭亡，舌头因柔软而长久存在这个道理吗？”商容说：“对！你已经明白天下的事理。”
There were two pots on the bank of a river. One was made of brass, and the other was made of clay.
河中漂流着一个瓦锅和一个铜锅。
When the water rose they both floated off down the river. The earthen pot tried to stay away from the brass one.
每当潮涨潮落时，瓦锅就尽量地远离铜锅。
So the brass pot cried out, "Fear nothing, friend, I will not hit you."
铜锅大叫：“别害怕，朋友，我不会撞你的。”
"But I may come in contact with you," said the earthen pot. "If I come too close, whether I hit you or you hit me, I shall suffer for it."
“但是我有可能会和你接触，”瓦锅对铜锅说，“如果我离你太近，无论是你碰到我，或者是我自己不小心碰到你，我都会碎的。”
After that the earthen pot floated away.
然后，瓦锅就漂走了。
A wild ass1 saw a pack-ass jogging along under a heavy load, and taunted2 him with the condition of slavery in which he lived, in these words: "What a vile3 lot is yours compared with mine! I am free as the air, and never do a stoke of work; and, as for fodder4, I have only to go to the hills and there I find far more than enough for my needs. But you! You depend on your master for food, and he makes you carry heavy loads every day and beats you unmercifully." At that moment a lion appeared on the scene, and made no attempt to molest5 the pack-ass owing to the presence of the driver, but he fell upon the wild ass, who had no one to protect him, and without more ado made a meal of him.
It is no use being your own master unless you can stand up for yourself.
一头野驴看到一头家驴背负这沉重的货物一路小跑，便讥讽他过着奴隶般的生活：“和我相比，你过得多么卑微呀！我自由自在地享受着大自然，从不下苦力，说道食物，我只需要跑到山上去，就能发现大量吃的东西。再看看你！只能依靠主人施舍吃点，他不仅每天都让你驮重物，还无情地鞭打你。”这时，一只狮子出现在他们的视野中，由于驴夫的出现，狮子没有骚扰家驴，直接扑向了没有保护者的野驴，立即吃掉了野驴。
除非能照顾好自己，否则做自己的主人一点用也没有。2.英语寓言故事及翻译
One day a crow stood on a branch near his nest and felt very happy with the meat in his mouth.
有一天，一只乌鸦站在窝旁的树枝上嘴里叼着一片肉，心里非常高兴。
At that time, a fox saw the crow with the meat, so he swallowed and eagerly thought of a plan to get the meat.
这时候，一只狐狸看见了乌鸦，馋得直流口水，非常想得到那片肉。
However, whatever the fox said to the crow, the crow just kept silent.
但是，无论狐狸说什么，乌鸦就是不理睬狐狸。
Until the fox thought highly of the crow’s beautiful voice, the crow felt flattered and opened his mouth to sing.
最后，狐狸赞美乌鸦的嗓音美，并要求乌鸦唱几句让他欣赏欣赏。乌鸦听了狐狸赞美的话，得意极了，就唱起歌来。
As soon as the meat fell down to the ground, the fox took the meat and went into his hole.
没想到，肉一掉下来，狐狸就叼起肉，钻回了洞。3.英语寓言故事及翻译
An ox and a dog serve for the same farmer.
一头牛和一只狗同时为一个农夫工作
One day the dog arrogantly says: “How grand I am! In the daytime, I watch out for the cattle in the meadows; at night, I guard the house. But you…”
一天， 狗骄傲地说着；‘我是多么重要啊！白天我在牧场看护家群，晚上我看家。而你呢…..?”
“Me? How about me ?” the ox says
“我？我怎么啦？“ 牛反问。
“You can only plough or draw a cart,” the dog slightly says.
“你只会犁地或是拉扯。”狗不懈地说。
“Yes. It’s true,” the ox says. “But if I don’t plough, what do you guard?”
“是的。你说得没有错，”牛回答道。“但是如果没有我犁地，你看护什么呢？” 4.英语寓言故事及翻译
There were two pots on the bank of a river. One was made of brass, and the other was made of clay.
河中漂流着一个瓦锅和一个铜锅。
When the water rose they both floated off down the river. The earthen pot tried to stay away from the brass one.
每当潮涨潮落时，瓦锅就尽量地远离铜锅。
So the brass pot cried out, "Fear nothing, friend, I will not hit you."
铜锅大叫：“别害怕，朋友，我不会撞你的'。”
"But I may come in contact with you," said the earthen pot. "If I come too close, whether I hit you or you hit me, I shall suffer for it."
“但是我有可能会和你接触，”瓦锅对铜锅说，“如果我离你太近，无论是你碰到我，或者是我自己不小心碰到你，我都会碎的。”
After that the earthen pot floated away.
然后，瓦锅就漂走了。5.英语寓言故事及翻译
A wild boar was sharpening his tusks against a tree one day when a fox came by。
"What are you doing that for?" asked the fox 。 "There are no hunters around。 Everything looks very peaceful to me 。"
"Quite true，"said the boar，"but when the hunter does e with his dogs I shall be too busy running away to have time for this 。 So let me sharpen my tusks while I can。"
Be prepared 。
野猪和狐狸
有一天，野猪在树上磨牙齿，狐狸走过来。
"你为什么干这个呀？"狐狸问，"附近又没有猎人，我觉得平安无事。"
"不错，"野猪说，"可是，如果猎人真的带着猎狗来了，我只能逃走，就没工夫干这个了。趁我此刻能够磨，就让我磨磨牙齿吧。"
时刻准备着（有备无患）
A very very long time ago, there were people wholived much longer than they do today. They lived many thousand years. At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born as a baby named Makhadeva. He lived 84,000 years as a child and crown prince. At the time of our story, he had been a young king for 80,000 years.
One day, Makhadeva told the royal barber, “If you see any gray hair on my head, you must tell me immediately!” Of course, the barber promised to do so.
Another 4,000 years passed, until Makhadeva had been a young king for 84,000 years. Then one day, while he was cutting the king's hair, the royal barber saw just one little gray hair on all the king's head. So he said, “Oh my lord, I see one gray hair on your head.” The king said,“If this be so, pull it out and put it in my hand.” The barber got his golden tweezers1(镊子，小钳子) ,plucked out(拔出) the single little gray hair, and put it in the king's hand.
At that time, the king still had at least another 84,000 years left to live as an old king! Looking at the one gray hair in his hand, he became very afraid of dying. He felt like death was closing in on him, as if he were trapped in a burning house. He was so afraid, that the sweat rolled down his back, and he shuddered2(发抖，战栗) .
King Makhadeva thought, “Oh foolish king, you have wasted all this long life and now you are near death. You have made no attempt to destroy your greed and envy, to live without hating, and to get rid of your ignorance by learning the truth and becoming wise.”
As he thought this, his body burned and the sweat kept rolling down. Then he decided3 once and for all(一劳永逸地，彻底地) , “Itis time to give up the kingship, be ordained4(命令，注定) as a monk5, and practice meditation6!” Thinking so, he granted the income of a whole town to the barber. It amounted to one-hundred-thousand per year.
Then the king called his oldest son to him and said,“My son, I have seen a gray hair. I have become old. I have enjoyed the worldly(世俗的) pleasures of great wealth and power. When I die, I want to be reborn in a heaven world, to enjoy the pleasures of the gods. So I will be ordainedas a monk. You must now take the responsibility of rulingthe country. I will live the life of a monk in the forest.”
Hearing of this, the royal ministers and the rest of the court rushed to the king and said, “Our lord, why do you suddenly want to be ordained?”
The king held up the gray hair in his hand and said, “My ministers and subjects, I have realized that this gray hair shows that the three stages of life youth, middleage and old age--are coming to an end. This first gray hair was the messenger of death sitting on my head. Gray hairs are like angels sent by the god of death. Therefore, this very day is the time for me to be ordained.”
The people wept at the news of his departure. King Makhadeva gave up his royal life, went into the forest, and was ordained as a monk. There he practiced what holy men call the 'Four Heavenly States of Mind'. First is loving-kindness, tender affection for all. Second is feeling sympathy and pity for all those who suffer. Third is feeling happiness for all those who are joyful7. And the fourthstate is balance and calm, even in the face of difficulties or troubles.
After 84,000 years of great effort meditating8 andpracticing these states as a humble9forest monk, theBodhisatta died. He was reborn in a high heaven world, tolive a life a million years long!
The moral is: Even a long life is too short to waste.
有一天早上，小老鼠来到了童话王国，那里人山人海，非常热闹，小老鼠东瞧瞧，西看看，终于找到了它的好朋友老牛。
One morning, the little mouse arrived at the fairy tale kingdom, where there was a sea of people and a lot of excitement. The little mouse looked around and finally found its good friend, Lao Niu.
老牛也看到了它的。好朋友，便带着老鼠来到了自己温暖的屋子里，老牛提议玩成语的游戏，小老鼠说：“我早想改改，我们老鼠家族的名声了，我们来过几招吧！”老牛随口附和道：“好吧！”于是，它们就开始了比赛。
The old ox also saw its good friend and brought the mouse to his warm house. The old ox suggested playing the game of idioms, and the little mouse said, "I wanted to change it a long time ago. Our mouse familys reputation has changed, lets play a few tricks!" The old ox casually agreed, "Okay!" So they started the competition.
小老鼠率先开口，大声吼道：“我要把人类贬低我们的那些成语改一改，变成胆大如鼠，好眉鼠眼，而不是胆小如鼠，贼眉鼠眼。”
The little mouse was the first to speak up and shouted loudly, "I want to change the idioms that humans use to belittle us. They should be as bold as a mouse, with good eyebrows and mouse eyes, rather than as timid as a mouse, with thief eyebrows and mouse eyes."
老牛也不甘于小老鼠之后，也大声喊道：“我们家族被人类夸奖，牛转乾坤，牛气冲天都是来夸我们牛族的，我们也不用改就被人们夸奖了，哈哈！我们的比试就到此为止吧！”
The old ox was also not willing to be praised by the little mouse, and shouted loudly, "Our family has been praised by humans. The ox has transformed the world, and its soaring spirit is all to praise our ox family. We dont need to change and be praised by people anymore. Haha! Thats all for our competition!"
小老鼠说：“好了，我要去宣传我们鼠家族的好处了，再见，老牛。”
The little mouse said, "Alright, Im going to promote the benefits of our mouse family. Goodbye, old cow."
小老鼠跑到街上大声喊：“我们鼠家族的名声都变了，是胆大如鼠，好眉鼠眼。”小老鼠喊了好久，都没有人回复，只好灰溜溜地走了。
The little mouse ran to the street and shouted loudly, "The reputation of our mouse family has changed. We are as bold as a mouse, with good eyebrows and eyes." The little mouse shouted for a long time, but no one replied, so it had to leave in disappointment.
这个故事告诉我们：要切合实际地想问题，不要脱离实际，胡思乱想。
This story tells us: to think about problems realistically, not to deviate from reality and think recklessly.
Lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up in anger, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying： “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go.
It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar,came up, and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and setting him free,exclaimed： “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favour； but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.”
一只老鼠从一只狮子面前跑过去，将它从梦中吵醒。
狮子生气地跳起来，捉住老鼠，要弄死它。老鼠哀求说：只要你肯饶恕我这条小生命，我将来一定会报答你的大恩。狮子便笑着放了它。后来狮子被几个猎人捉住，用粗绳捆绑倒在地上。老鼠听出是狮子的吼声，走来用牙齿咬断绳索，释放了它，并大声说：你当时嘲笑我想帮你的忙，而且也不指望我有什么机会报答。但是你现在知道了，就算是小老鼠，也能向狮子效劳的。
A man wrote a letter and had it sent to a rich man to borrow an ox.
有个人写了一封信，派人去向一个富翁借头牛。
The rich man was just receiving guests.
富翁正在会客。
He was illiterate, but he resented very much being considered illiterate.
富翁不识字，但是他却最忌讳人家说他不识字。
Upon receiving the letter, he opened the envelope, and skimmed through the letter as if he could read.
他一接到信，就拆开信封，装出识字的样子，默默地看了一遍，
Then he said to the messenger:“All right. I will go in a little while.”
然后对来人说:“知道了，等一会儿我就去！”
State in the past, there was a timid little man. He likes to think of some strange questions. One day, he sat in front of the door to catch a cold, and suddenly he was worried that the day would fall. He said, "what should we do if the sky falls down? " from then on, he was worried and troubled about the problem almost every day. Friends know, ran to enlighten him said: "the day is just a bunch of gas, how can you worry about the heavens? " The man said: "If the innocent is a gas, then above the moon and stars hanging in the air, Do not fall down? " The friend replied: "The stars are made of gas together, even if the fall down, never hurt somebody! " After such a channel, the man finally put down the heart.
译文：
从前在杞国，有一个胆子很小的人。他很喜欢想一些稀奇古怪的问题。有一天，他坐在门前乘凉，忽然很担心天会塌下来。他说：“要是天塌了下来，我们该怎么办呢？”从此以后，他几乎每天都为这个问题发愁、烦恼。朋友知道后，就跑来开导他说：“天不过一堆气体，你怎么会担心天塌下来呢？”杞人说：“如果天真的是气体，那么日月星辰挂在气体的上面，难道不会坠落下来吗？ ”朋友答：“日月星辰也是由气体聚集而成的`，即使掉下来，也绝不会砸伤人的！”经过这么一番开导，杞人终于放下心来。
A young man was caught stealing, and sentenced to death three days later.
He wanted to speak with his mother before the execution. Of course this was granted.
When his mother came to him, he said, "I want to tell you something. " He said something but she could not hear. He whispered again, and when she came close to him, she put her ear to his mouth. He nearly bit off her ear. All the bystanders were horrified.
"It is to punish her, " he said. "When I was young I began stealing little things, and brought them home to mother. "Instead of punishing me, she laughed and said, It will not be noticed. It is because of her that I am here today. "
一个小偷被抓住了，被判处，三天后执行。
他想在行刑前与他的母亲话别，得到了允许。
当他妈妈来到他的面前，他说：“告诉你一件事。”他轻轻说了一遍，但是她听不到；等她走近些，小偷又轻声说了一遍。母亲将耳朵贴近时，儿子突然咬住母亲的耳朵，差点撕下来，周围的人都惊呆了。
“这是对她的`惩罚，”小偷说，“我小时候小偷小摸，把偷的东西带回家时，她不但不惩罚我，反而笑着说‘别让人看见。就是因为她我才落个今天这样的下场。”
寓意： 小错起初不惩治，必将酿成大错。
Every girl dreams and Li Xie is no exception. She has read dozens of books on how to be a ballerina and Swam.
每一个女孩都有梦想，李协也不例外。她读了很多书，都是关于如 她希望有一天能梦想成真。她参加了芭蕾舞培训班，所有老师都认为她很优秀。
One day she saw an advertisement that a famous ballerina troupe will be performing in her hometown.
一天，有一则广告说一个著名的芭蕾舞团要在她的家乡演出
Her thoughts ran wild, "I must meet up with the leader of the troupe and show him my skills, " she murmured to herself.
她看到后顿时思绪纷杂，自言自语道：¨我必须要见见团长，展示一下我的才艺。¨
She dressed herself in her ballerina costume and managed to evade the guards and hid in the dressing room.
她穿上芭蕾服，尽量避开门卫躲进了化妆室。
To her luck the leader entered and she timidly knocked at the door.
很幸运，团长进来了，她胆怯地敲了敲门。
She bravely approached him and handed him a bunch of red roses and in her excitement the thorns pricked her hand but she did not make much ado about the pain.
她鼓足勇气走近他，送上一束红玫瑰。激动之余，玫瑰的刺戳到了她的手，但她根本没有在意。
The leader observed her action as she told him her dream. "Alright, you dance and I will give you my verdict."
在她给团才讲自己的梦想时，团长注意到了她的举止。“好吧，你先跳，我再说我的意见。"
But half way through the dance he stopped her and said, "I'm sorry you're not good enough!"
但是她只跳了一半，团长就让她停下来，说道： ¨我很抱歉你跳得还不。
On hearing this Li Xie ran as fast as her legs could carry her and was ashamed. She gave up her dream.
听到这话，李协非常羞愧，拼命地跑开了。从此，她放弃了梦想。
Many years later, she heard that the same ballet troupe was performing in her town again.
多年以后，她听说原来那个芭蕾舞团又一次来到她家乡演出。
Bitter memories of the leader's harsh words came flooding back to her.
团长尖刻的话语涌上心头，这是一次痛苦的记忆。
This time she was determined to find out Why the leader had told her she was not good enough when all her teachers thought otherwise.
这次她决定向团长问个究竟，为什么别的老师都认为她跳得很好，而他却不这样认为。
This was his reply, "I tell this to every student." She angrily shot back, "You've ruined my life!一 Then she got a further shock, "
团长回答道：u我对每个学生都这样说。¨她生气地反驳说：“可是你毁了我的一生！”团长的回话让她更震惊了：
I remember your gift of roses and how the thorns had pricked your fingers but you carried on bravery.
“我记得你送的玫瑰，刺戤到了你的手指，而你却勇敢地继续表演。
If you only had treated bal}et like that and did not give up so easily; therefore, you still deserve my verdict! "
如果你能以那种精神对待芭蕾舞，就不会轻易放弃了。因此，我的意见对你仍然受用。
“Why need our care?’
“Because from then on the aunt cannot do what they liked to along with her daughter. She is very pitiful. In her distress, making dinners and doing chores are also becoming so difficult. My dear, can you help Mother hit an idea to help the aunt in other ways?”
At her mother’s proposal, the girl thought for a long while. All of a sudden, she went to the neighbor and knocked at the door.
The neighbor with a look of haggardness and tiredness opened the door.
“What can I do for you?” asked the neighbor.
“I heard my mother say you’re very distressed for losing your daughter…” The girl timidly handed the band-aid tightly held in her hand to the neighbor.
The neighbor suddenly choked with sobs, her tears gushing from her eyes. She hugged the girl and said, “Thank you. This band-aid will cure my wound.”
【中文翻译】
“妈妈，您在忙什么呢？”还不到6岁的女孩，好奇的问妈妈。
“给邻居家的阿姨做饭。”
“为什么？”
“前几天阿姨失去了心爱的女儿，现在很伤心。我们这几天要好好照顾她。”
“为什么需要我们照顾呢？”
“阿姨以后不能和她女儿一起做他们喜欢做的事了，很可怜。人在极度悲伤时，做饭和料理家务也会变得很难。女儿，你能不能也帮妈妈想想其他能帮助阿姨做的事呢？”
女孩听到妈妈的提议，认真的思考了很久，突然走到邻居家敲响了门。
一脸憔悴和疲惫的邻居开了门。
“有什么事吗？”邻居问道。
“听妈妈说，您因为失去了女儿，非常痛苦……”女孩羞涩的把攥在手里的创可贴递给了邻居。
“阿姨，把这个贴在胸口吧，那样你的心就不会痛了。”
邻居突然哽咽起来，泪水夺眶而出。她抱住女孩说：“谢谢，这个创可贴会治好我的伤口的。。”
An ass having heard some grasshoppers chirping, was highly enchanted; and, desiring to possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived on to give them such beautiful voices. They replied, “The dew.”
The ass resolved that he would live only upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger.
驴子听见蚱蜢唱歌，被美妙动听的歌声所打动，自己也想能发出同样悦耳动听的声音，便羡慕地问他们吃些什么，才能发出如此美妙的声音来。蚱蜢答道：“吃露水。”
驴子便也只吃露水，没多久就饿死了。