100个儿童英语小故事: The Fox Trapped in the Vineyard 狐狸被困在葡萄园

 

082 The Fox Trapped in the Vineyard

It was a sunny summer day. A fox was passing by a vineyard. Looking at the ripe grapes, the fox exclaimed, 'How delicious they must be!' The fox really wanted to taste the grapes.

So, the fox tried to go over the fence, but it was too high for him. Looking around, he found a small hole in the corner. "Ha, ha, ha! Thank God! I can go through the hole and eat as many grapes as I want!"

The fox put his head in the hole but his stomach was too big. "Ouch! Why didn't they make a larger hole?" complained the fox.

'Why don't I starve myself for a few days. Then, my stomach will become slim enough for me to go through the hole.' Dreaming of eating delicious grapes, the fox starved for three days. The fox's stomach really became slim. "Well, I'd better go quickly into the vineyard!" he said.

The fox put his body through the hold in the fence. With such a slim stomach, the fox was able to easily pass through the hole. After getting inside the vineyard, the fox jumped up and down with joy. 'I am so clever.'

.

The fox madly picked and ate the grapes from a vine in full bloom. "Umm! How tasty!"

Walking by the vineyard, a bear spotted¹ the fox eating delicious grapes. "Fox! Fox!" called out the bear. "What's up?" carelessly replied the fox, as he was concentrating on eating grapes. "Can you give me some grapes? I am so hungry," begged the bear.

There were a lot of grapes left in the vineyard. However, the fox did not want to share the grapes. "No! I will eat them all. I starved for three days to get at these grapes."

The bear reluctantly walked away. The fox snorted at the bear. 'Hmm! Trying to eat grapes with just a word?'

The fox ate grapes until his stomach became swollen². 'I am too full. I cannot eat any more. I had better go home and take a nap.'

The fox put his head in the hole. But, what happened? His stomach is too bulky for him to get outside. "Yelp³, yelp! Let's use all my strength." The fox exerted all his power from his body, but it was no use.

The fox had no choice but to starve for three days. And, he could come out of the hole only after his stomach had gotten slim. "Oh, my! I'm so hungry." The fox held his growling⁴ stomach and went back home. Watching this, the bear and other animals laughed at the greedy fox.

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

3 yelp   

vi.狗吠

参考例句：

• The dog gave a yelp of pain.狗疼得叫了一声。
• The puppy a yelp when John stepped on her tail.当约翰踩到小狗的尾巴，小狗发出尖叫。

4 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。