元元讲故事-断尾巴的狐狸

The fox without a tail

A fox's tail was caught in a trap. When he was trying to release himself, he lost his whole tail except the stump¹.

At first he was ashamed to see the other foxes because he had no tail, but he was determined² to face his misfortune. He called all the foxes to a meeting.

When they had gotten together, the fox said that they should all do away with their tails.

He said that their tails were very inconvenient³ when they met with their enemies.

He did not talk about any advantages of the tail. "You are right," said one of the older foxes, "but I don't think you would advise us to do away with our tails if you hadn't lost it yourself first."

断尾的狐狸

●一只狐狸的尾巴被夹住了，当他试着脱身的时候，挣断了整条尾巴。

●开始时，他看到其他狐狸的时候感到很羞愧。后来，他决定面对这种不幸，就召集了所有的狐狸开会。

　　●大家到齐后，他极力劝说其他狐狸也割掉尾巴，说尾巴在遭遇敌人时很不方便，尾巴一点儿作用也没有。

　　●可他没有说有尾巴的任何好处。

　　●一只老狐狸站出来说：“如果你没有失去你的尾巴，你是不会来劝大家都割去尾巴的。 ”

寓意: 有些人为了自己的利益而劝告他人，我们不能轻信他们的意见。

1 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？