英文幽默故事：The Trees and The Lions

Far away from a kingdom there was a huge jungle. In that jungle, there were thousands of trees. Among them two were very good friends. They stood side by side. The same jungle was the home of many lions. Those lions used to kill other animals living in that jungle and eat them. The carcasses of the dead animals used to stink¹ and a foul² smell would hang in the air. The whole atmosphere was bad to live in. 

 

One day, the two trees, who were friends, were talking. The first tree said, “These lions are polluting our jungle. We have to save our jungle from them. They must be driven out of this jungle." 

 

“Yes," agreed the other tree. 

 

A wise old tree, who was listening to the friends said, “They might be polluting the air. But these wild creatures are keeping us safe from woodcutters. No woodcutter will dare to come into the forest which has lions." 

 

But, this advice did not go into the minds of the trees. The two friends decided³ to frighten the animals away. That evening, the two trees started shaking violently. “We will frighten the lions away. They will be so terrified that they will leave this jungle and never come back into this jungle," said the two friends and laughed aloud. 

 

The whole forest echoed with their laughter. “Do not do that," shouted the wise tree. 

 

But the two friends did not listen. They began moving in the wind and making eerie⁴ noises. All the other wild animals in the forest were scared, seeing the two trees and the sounds they were creating. “There is something happening in the forest. Let us run away," they said. All the animals fled the jungle. 

 

The two friends were happy. “Huh! Now we can enjoy some fresh air," they said. 

 

But their joy was short-lived. One day a woodcutter came to the forest and started felling the trees. “Now there is no fear of the ferocious⁵ lions," he muttered to himself. Soon there were other wood cutters. Seeing this, the wise tree said, “Now all of us will be doomed⁶." The two friends cried out, “How foolish we have been. We should have listened to this wise tree." 

 

A little later the two tree friends were brought down by the wood cutter’s axe⁷.The Trees and The Lions are must. 

 

Day by day, more and more trees were destroyed by many woodcutters.  

1 stink   

vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭

参考例句：

• The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
• The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

2 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

5 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

6 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

7 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。