儿童小故事：狐狸和老虎

The Fox and the Tiger（狐狸和老虎）

　　An Archer¹, hunting in the woods, was so successful with his arrows that he killed many of the wild animals. This frightened the rest so much that they ran into the densest² part of the bushes to hide. At last the Tiger stood up, and pretending to be very brave, told the other animals not to be afraid anymore, but to rely on his courage, and he would attack the enemy on his own. While he was talking, and lashing³ his tail and tearing at the ground with his claws to impress the others, an arrow came and pierced his ribs⁴. The Tiger howled with pain.

　　While he was trying to draw out the arrow with his teeth the Fox went up to him and asked, in surprise, whoever had the strength and courage to wound such a brave and mighty⁵ beast as the Tiger?

　　"Nay," said the Tiger, "I misjudged my enemy. It was that unbeatable man over there!"

　　MORAL: Knowledge is power.

狐狸和老虎

　　一个射手正在森林里打猎。他的箭法好极了，射死了许多野兽。这可大大地吓坏了余下的动物，它们都跑到最茂盛的灌木丛中躲藏起来。最后，老虎站了起来，装着非常勇敢的样子叫其余的动物相信它的勇敢，不必再害怕。它将独个儿向敌人进攻。它一边说着，一边甩动着它的尾巴，并用它的爪子刨着地上的泥土，想使别人更信任它。就在这时，一枝箭飞来，刺穿了他的肋骨，老虎顿时痛得吼叫起来。

　　正当它尽力用牙齿拔出身上的箭时，狐狸走上前来吃惊地问道：“谁能有这样的力气和胆量来伤害象老虎这样勇敢而强有力的野兽呢？”

　　“不，”老虎说，“我错误地判断了我的敌人，是那边那个不可战胜的人打败了我。”

1 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

2 densest   

密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的

参考例句：

• Past Botoi some of the densest jungle forests on Anopopei grew virtually into the water. 过了坊远湾，岛上的莽莽丛林便几乎直长到水中。
• Earth is the densest of all of these remaining planets. 地球是所剩下行星中最致密的星球。

3 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。