儿童寓言故事：狼和绵羊

 

　　A wolf met a lamb that had walked away from the other sheep in the fold. He told the lamb that he wouldn’t hurt him. Secretly though, he planned to eat the lamb! But first he needed to find a good reason for eating the lamb.

　　So he said to the lamb, "Sir, last year you rudely insulted me."

　　"I don’t think that’s possible," bleated¹ the lamb in a sad voice, "I was not even born then."

　　So the wolf then said, "You eat the grass in my field."

　　"No, good sir," replied the lamb, "I have not yet tasted grass."
　
　　The wolf tried again. "You drink the water in my well," he growled².

　　"No!" exclaimed the lamb, "I never drank your water because my mother’s milk is both food and drink to me."

　　Suddenly the wolf jumped on the lamb and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won’t be hungry even though you argue against every one of my reasons for eating you."

　　Moral: The tyrant³ will always find a reason for his tyranny.

1 bleated   

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的过去式和过去分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

• The lost lamb bleated. 迷路的小羊咩咩的叫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She bleated her disapproval of her son's marriage to Amy. 她用颤抖的声音表示不赞成儿子与艾米的婚事。 来自辞典例句

2 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。