28. The Flies and the Honey-Pot
A NUMBER of Flies were attracted to a jar of honey which had been overturned in a housekeeper's room, and placing their feet in it, ate greedily.
Their feet, however, became so smeared with the honey that they could not use their wings, nor release themselves, and were suffocated.
Just as they were expiring, they exclaimed, "O foolish creatures that we are, for the sake of a little pleasure we have destroyed ourselves."
Pleasure bought with pains, hurts.
29. The Man and the Lion
A MAN and a Lion traveled together through the forest.
They soon began to boast of their respective superiority to each other in strength and prowess.
As they were disputing, they passed a statue carved in stone, which represented "a Lion strangled by a Man."
The traveler pointed to it and said:
"See there! How strong we are, and how we prevail over even the king of beasts."
The Lion replied:
"This statue was made by one of you men. If we Lions knew how to erect statues, you would see the Man placed under the paw of the Lion."
One story is good, till another is told.
30. The Farmer and the Cranes
SOME CRANES made their feeding grounds on some plowlands newly sown with wheat. For a long time the Farmer, brandishing an empty sling, chased them away by the terror he inspired; but when the birds found that the sling was only swung in the air, they ceased to take any notice of it and would not move.
The Farmer, on seeing this, charged his sling with stones, and killed a great number.
The remaining birds at once forsook his fields, crying to each other, "It is time for us to be off to Liliput: for this man is no longer content to scare us, but begins to show us in earnest what he can do."
If words suffice not, blows must follow.
其他部分明天再进一步整理，怕有错，每篇我都是逐字阅读对照整理的。 |
