THE SLAVE AND THE LION

奴隸和獅子

A Slave ran away from his master，by whom he had been most cruelly treated，and，in order to avoid capture，betook himself into the desert.As he wandered about in search of food and shelter，he came to a cave，which he entered and found to be unoccupied.Really，however，it was a Lion's den，and almost immediately，to the horror of the wretched fugitive，the Lion himself appeared.The man gave himself up for lost：but，to his utter astonishment，the Lion，instead of springing upon him and devouring him，came and fawned upon him，at the same time whining and lifting up his paw.Observing it to be much swollen and inflamed，he examined it and found a large thorn embedded in the ball of the foot.He accordingly removed it and dressed the wound as well as he could：and in course of time it healed up completely.The Lion's gratitude was unbounded；he looked upon the man as his friend，and they shared the cave for some time together.A day came，however，when the Slave began to long for the society of his fellow-men，and he bade farewell to the Lion and returned to the town.Here he was presently recognized and carried off in chains to his former master，who resolved to make an example of him，and ordered that he should be thrown to the beasts at the next public spectacle in the theatre.On the fatal day the beasts were loosed into the arena，and among the rest a Lion of huge bulk and ferocious aspect；and then the wretched Slave was cast in among them.What was the amazement of the spectators，when the Lion after one glance bounded up to him and lay down at his feet with every expression of affection and delight！It was his old friend of the cave！The audience clamored that the Slave's life should be spared：and the governor of the town，marveling at such gratitude and fidelity in a beast，decreed that both should receive their liberty.

｛中文閱讀｝

一個奴隸因不堪忍受主人的殘暴虐待而逃跑了，為了避免被抓住，他逃進了沙漠中。正當他思忖著該如何尋找食物和棲身之地時，來到了一個洞穴前，他走進去看了看，空無一人。然而，這是一個獅子的巢穴，就在這時，獅子出現了，可憐的逃亡者嚇呆了。他認定自己無處可逃，然而，完全出乎他的意料，獅子不但沒有撲過來吃掉他，反而過來巴巴地討好他，一邊哭訴著，一邊抬起自己的爪子。看到那個爪子又腫又脹，還在發炎，逃亡者認真地檢查了一下，發現有一根刺深嵌入獅子的腳掌里。他慢慢地拔出了那根刺，盡可能地處理好傷口，過了一陣，傷口自然就痊愈了。獅子對他感激不盡，將他當成了自己的朋友，從此他們一起分享這個洞穴。過了一段時間，有一天，奴隸開始渴望回到人類的社會生活中，他向獅子告別，然后回到鎮子上。他一出現，立刻就被認出來，接著就被帶上鐐銬，送到了前主人那里。主人懲罰了他以示警戒，并且還命令道，在下次馬戲表演時應該把他扔給野獸。就在性命攸關的那一天，野獸都被釋放進競技場后，其中有一頭體態肥碩的獅子，跑到他跟前，帶著喜愛和高興的表情趴在他腳邊。這正是他在洞里生活時的老朋友！觀眾都嚷嚷著應該饒了這個奴隸的命，鎮子上的官員也驚訝于一頭野獸的感恩與忠誠，下令讓奴隸和獅子都獲得自由。

THE FLEA AND THE MAN

跳蚤和人

A Flea bit a Man，and bit him again，and again，till he could stand it no longer，but made a thorough search for it，and at last succeeded in catching it.Holding it between his finger and thumb，he said-or rather shouted，so angry was he--"Who are you，pray，you wretched little creature，that you make so free with my person？"The Flea，terrified，whimpered in a weak little voice，"Oh，sir！pray let me go；don't kill me！I am such a little thing that I can't do you much harm."But the Man laughed and said，"I am going to kill you now，at once：whatever is bad has got to be destroyed，no matter how slight the harm it does."

Do not waste your pity on a scamp.

｛中文閱讀｝

一只小跳蚤咬了一個人，并且一次又一次地不停咬他，這個人再也忍受不了了，全身上下找了一遍之后，終于抓住了那只跳蚤。他用食指和拇指捏著跳蚤說，或者可能因為生氣，幾乎是怒吼道：“你是誰？你這個讓人厭惡的小生命，為何在我身上如此放肆？”受了驚嚇的跳蚤小聲嗚咽道：“哦，先生，求你饒了我吧，千萬別捏死我！我就是一個小東西，不會給你帶來多大傷害的。”然而，那人笑著說：“我現在就要殺死你，馬上執行，只要是壞東西，就一定要被消滅，無論造成的傷害有多輕微。”

不要在無賴身上浪費同情心。

THE BEE AND JUPITER

蜜蜂與朱庇特

A Queen Bee from Hymettus flew up to Olympus with some fresh honey from the hive as a present to Jupiter，who was so pleased with the gift that he promised to give her anything she liked to ask for.She said she would be very grateful if he would give stings to the bees，to kill people who robbed them of their honey.Jupiter was greatly displeased with this request，for he loved mankind：but he had given his word，so he said that stings they should have.The stings he gave them，however，were of such a kind that whenever a bee stings a man the sting is left in the wound and the bee dies.

Evil wishes，like fowls，come home to roost.

｛中文閱讀｝

一只來自伊米托斯山的蜂王飛到奧林匹斯山上，將蜂巢里剛產出的新鮮蜂蜜當做禮物送給了朱庇特，朱庇特很喜歡這份禮物，便答應滿足她的任何請求。蜂王說，如果能賜予蜜蜂們蜂針，從而能夠懲治那些偷走蜂蜜的人，她就不勝感激了。朱庇特聽到她的請求很不高興，因為他愛著人類；但是他必須得履行諾言，于是他說可以讓蜜蜂擁有蜂針。然而，他賜予蜜蜂的針卻是一種特殊的刺，只要刺一回人，蜂針就會折斷，蜜蜂自己也會隨之而死。

惡意總會有惡報。

THE OAK AND THE REEDS

橡樹與蘆葦

An Oak that grew on the bank of a river was uprooted by a severe gale of wind，and thrown across the stream.It fell among some Reeds growing by the water，and said to them，"How is it that you，who are so frail and slender，have managed to weather the storm，whereas I，with all my strength，have been torn up by the roots and hurled into the river？"

"You were stubborn，"came the reply，"and fought against the storm，which proved stronger than you：but we bow and yield to every breeze，and thus the gale passed harmlessly over our heads."

｛中文閱讀｝

一棵長在河邊的橡樹被一陣狂風連根拔起，并且被甩到了河對岸。橡樹掉入了水邊的蘆葦叢中，于是對蘆葦說：“我這么強壯，都能被狂風連根拔起、落入水中，而你們如此脆弱纖細，究竟是如何渡過難關的？”“你太頑固了，”蘆葦回答道，“總愛逆風對抗，可是風卻比你更厲害；而我們甚至對微風也卑躬屈膝，所以強風才會無害地吹過我們的頭頂。”

THE BLIND MAN AND THE CUB

盲人與小野獸

There was once a Blind Man who had so fine a sense of touch that，when any animal was put into his hands，he could tell what it was merely by the feel of it.One day the Cub of a Wolf was put into his hands，and he was asked what it was.He felt it for some time，and then said，"Indeed，I am not sure whether it is a Wolf's Cub or a Fox's：but this I know--it would never do to trust it in a sheepfold."

Evil tendencies are early shown.

｛中文閱讀｝

從前，有一個人眼睛雖然瞎了，可是他精于觸覺，只要用手摸一摸，憑借著觸感便能說出這是什么動物。有一天，一只小狼崽被送到了他的手中，請他告知這是什么東西。他用手摸了一會兒，然后說：“我不太確定，這到底是一只小狼崽，還是一只狐貍的幼崽，但是有一點我十分確定，千萬不要讓它進羊圈。”

惡劣的本性從小便知。