英文幽默故事：Good Company and Bad Company

Two parrots had built their nest on a banyan¹ tree. The female² parrot laid two eggs in the nest. After sometime, the eggs latched³. Two chicks came out of them. The parent birds took good care of them. After few weeks, the young birds were able to fly for some distances. The father bird said, “We have taken good care of our young ones. We have fed them well too. They have played together. They have learned⁴ to fly. Now they can take care of themselves. Let us slowly leave them to decide on their own." 

 

Every morning the parent birds flew out to fetch food for the young birds. Then they returned in the evening with food for their young children. This was their lives went on for a while. 

 

A hunter saw this behavior of these birds. He learned that the old birds went out in the morning. He decided⁵ to catch the young birds after the old birds would go away in the morning. As planned he caught the young birds. The young birds struggled their best to free themselves from the clutches⁶ of the hunter. One of the two young birds escaped from the hunter. The other bird was taken in a cage by the hunter to his house. 

 

“I caught tow⁷ birds. But I lost one parrot," said the hunter to his children. And he further added to his children, “Keep this parrot safely in the cage and play with this parrot." 

 

The hunter’s children played with the parrot. Very soon the parrot in the house of the hunter learnt to speak few words. The children said to their father, “Dad, our parrot has learnt to say a few words." 

 

The other parrot flew away. It had escaped from the hunter. It flew for some time. Then it came to a hermitage. Some holy men lived in the hermitage. They did not do any harm to the young parrot. The young parrot stayed there. It listened to their talk. It learnt to say a few words. 

 

A certain traveler was walking near the hunter’s hut. He was tires. He sat nest the hut. He heard the parrot speak. It said, “Fool, why have you come here? I will cut your throat." 

 

The traveler was very sorry to hear such bad words. He got up immediately. He left the place in a hurry. Then he walked for some time and reached the hermitage. The parrot was sitting on a tree near the hermitage. 

 

The parrot spoke⁸, “Welcome, traveler. Welcome to this hermitage. We have a lot of good fruits in this forest. Eat whatever you like. The holy men will treat you well." 

 

The traveler was surprised. He said to the parrot. “I met a young parrot near a hunter’s hut. It spoke badly. I left the place immediately. Now I have met you. You speak so well. Your words are kind and gentle. Both you and the other birds are parrots. Then why this difference in your language is there?" 

 

By this statement, the parrot in the hermitage guessed that the other parrot was none other than its brother. The hermitage parrot said, “Traveler, the other parrot is my brother. But we have lived in two different places. My brother has learnt the hunter’s language. But I have learnt the language of holy people. It is the company that shapes your words and deeds." 

 

Good company helps you learn good things. Bad company makes you lean bad things. 

 

1 banyan   

n.菩提树，榕树

参考例句：

• This huge banyan tree has a history of more than 400 years.这棵大榕树已经有四百多年的历史了。
• A large banyan tree may look like a forest.大型的榕树看起来象一片树林。

2 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

3 latched   

v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上）

参考例句：

• The government have latched onto environmental issues to win votes. 政府已开始大谈环境问题以争取选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He latched onto us and we couldn't get rid of him. 他缠着我们，甩也甩不掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

5 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。

6 clutches   

抓住，紧紧抓住( clutch的第三人称单数 )； （因害怕或痛苦）突然抓住

参考例句：

• He fell into the clutches of the criminal gang. 他落到了犯罪集团的魔爪中。
• He clutches at every opportunity to practise English conversation. 他抓住一切机会练习英语会话。

7 tow   

n.拖，拉，牵引

参考例句：

• The broken-down car was taken in tow by a lorry.那辆坏了的车由一辆货车拖着。
• Mrs Hayes went to the supermarket with her four little children in tow.海斯太太带着她的4个小孩到超市去了。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。