｛中文閱讀｝

一只狐貍失足掉到了井里，無論如何也爬不上來。一只口渴的公山羊來到這個井邊，看見狐貍待在井下，便問他井水好不好喝。“好不好喝？”狐貍說，“這可是我有生以來嘗過最好喝的水，你快下來親自試試吧。”一心只想喝水的山羊信以為真，便不假思索地跳了下去，當他“咕咚咕咚”痛飲完，就不得不開始思考爬上井去的辦法，可他也像狐貍那樣一籌莫展。狐貍早有準備，他狡猾地說：“我倒有一個方法。你用前腳扒在井墻上，再把后腿蹬直了，我從你的后背跳上井去，再拉你上來，這樣我們就都得救了。”公山羊同意了他的提議，狐貍踩著山羊的后背跳出了井口，接著便大搖大擺地揚長而去。公山羊指責狐貍不信守諾言，沒有把他拉上去。但是，狐貍卻回過頭來對公山羊說：“喂，朋友，如果你的心眼能像胡須那樣多，就不至于在沒想清楚應該如何跳出井之前，盲目地跳下去了。”

三思而行。

THE FISHERMAN AND THE SPRAT

漁夫和小鯡魚

A Fisherman cast his net into the sea，and when he drew it up again it contained nothing but a single Sprat that begged to be put back into the water."I'm only a little fish now，"it said，"but I shall grow big one day，and then if you come and catch me again I shall be of some use to you."But the Fisherman replied，"Oh，no，I shall keep you now I've got you：if I put you back，should I ever see you again？Not likely！"

｛中文閱讀｝

漁夫將網撒向大海，當他再次收網時，只看到一條翻騰著想回大海里去的小鯡魚。“我只是一條小魚，”可憐的小魚說，“但是我總有一天會長大，等我長大后，你再來抓我，那時才會對你更有好處。”然而，漁夫卻回答說：“不行，我現在就要留下你來，如果我放你回去，還會再看到你嗎？絕對不會了！”

THE BOASTING TRAVELLER

吹牛的路人

A Man once went abroad on his travels，and when he came home he had wonderful tales to tell of the things he had done in foreign countries.Among other things，he said he had taken part in a jumping-match at Rhodes，and had done a wonderful jump which no one could beat."Just go to Rhodes and ask them，"he said；"every one will tell you it's true."But one of those who were listening said，"If you can jump as well as all that，we needn't go to Rhodes to prove it.Let's just imagine this is Rhodes for a minute：and now-jump！"

Deeds，not words.

｛中文閱讀｝

有一個人曾經出國去旅行，回家后他就大肆吹噓在異國他鄉曾有過的那些奇妙經歷。其中，他就提到曾在羅德島參加過跳遠比賽，而且還得了第一名。“只要去羅德島問問當地人，”他說，“他們都會告訴你這是真的。”當時在場的一個人對他說：“如果你現在也能跳得那么遠，我們根本就不需要去羅德島找證據了。我們姑且暫時把這里當做是羅德島，你跳吧！”

行動勝于雄辯。

THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER

小螃蟹和他的媽媽

An Old Crab said to her son，"Why do you walk sideways like that，my son？You ought to walk straight."The Young Crab replied，"Show me how，dear mother，and I'll follow your example."The Old Crab tried，but tried in vain，and then saw how foolish she had been to find fault with her child.

Example is better than precept.

｛中文閱讀｝

母蟹對小蟹說：“我的兒子，為什么你要這樣橫著走？你應該直行。”小螃蟹回答道：“媽媽，請您親自教我怎樣走，我會跟著您學的。”母蟹試了幾次，卻根本不會直走，接著便發現自己竟然愚蠢地去指責孩子的錯誤。

身教勝于言傳。

THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW

驢和他的影子

A certain man hired an Ass for a journey in summertime，and started out with the owner following behind to drive the beast.By and by，in the heat of the day，they stopped to rest，and the traveller wanted to lie down in the Ass's Shadow；but the owner，who himself wished to be out of the sun，wouldn't let him do that；for he said he had hired the Ass only，and not his Shadow：the other maintained that his bargain secured him complete control of the Ass for the time being.From words they came to blows；and while they were belabouring each other the Ass took to his heels and was soon out of sight.

｛中文閱讀｝

一次，某人為了夏日的旅行而雇了一頭驢，于是，驢的主人跟在后面趕著驢出發了。烈日當頭的正午時分，越走越熱的他們停下來休息。行人想要躺在驢的影子下休息，可是驢的主人也希望能夠躲避太陽的照射，不想讓他這么做，因為行人只說雇傭了驢，沒說要雇傭它的影子。而行人也堅持認為自己完全有權利控制驢的一切行為。他們爭論不休，互相打了起來。就在他們打架時，驢逃之夭夭了。