英文幽默故事：The Stubborn Hunter

Once upon a time, there was a forest. That forest contained many animals. There lived a hunter. He loved hunting rabbits, because he loved the rabbit meat. 

 

Many a time he was advised by his friends to give up hunting in general and hunting the rabbits in particular. “You should stop being cruel to animals," said his friends. “I know what I am doing. Please do not advise me," shouted the hunter, annoyed. 

 

One sunny afternoon, the hunter was busy preparing to go on another hunting expedition. Just then a saint happened to pass by. Seeing the hunter holding a rope, a spear, a knife and a net, the saint said to the hunter, “It seems to me you are going to catch an animal." 

 

“Yes, I am going to catch a rabbit in the forest," replied the hunter. 

 

“But what will you do with the rabbit?" asked the saint. 

 

“I will cut its throat, roast it and eat it up. Will you stop me?" asked the hunter. 

 

The raw behavior of the hunter irritated the saint. “No, my son! I only wanted to tell you that killing¹ innocent animals is a sin. All sinners get punished some day in their lives," said the humble² saint. 

 

The hunter yelled back at the saint, “let me see who comes to punish me." And he left in anger. The saint smiled and sat there is meditation³. 

 

After some time, the hunter was back. He was holding a rabbit by its ears. “Ha! Ha! See I have caught my prey⁴. Now I will cut its throat and roast it right in front of you. No one will come to punish me," he said to the still meditating⁵ saint. Just as the hunter was about to raise his knife, it slipped out of his hand and landed on his foot. “Yieee!" he screamed, letting go of the rabbit. The rabbit ran away. 

 

The hunter’s foot was badly cut. He was in pain. It was bleeding profusely⁶. But the hunter knew that what happened was nothing but the divine justice. “I have now realized how cruel and stubborn I have been. I will give up hunting completely," said the hunter to the saint. 

 

The hunter thanked the saint for the wise words and went on his way. The saint was happy that the hunter gave up hunting. The hunter became a civilized⁷ man and lived a righteous life. 

 

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

4 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

5 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 profusely   

ad.abundantly

参考例句：

• We were sweating profusely from the exertion of moving the furniture. 我们搬动家具大费气力，累得大汗淋漓。
• He had been working hard and was perspiring profusely. 他一直在努力干活，身上大汗淋漓的。

7 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为