The ass and the grasshopper 驢子與蚱蜢

　　An ass1 having heard some grasshoppers2 chirping3, was highly enchanted4; and, desiring to possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived on to give them such beautiful voices. They replied, "The dew."

　　The ass resolved that he would live only upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger.

　　驢子聽見蚱蜢唱歌，被美妙動(dòng)聽的歌聲所打動(dòng)，自己也想能發(fā)出同樣悅耳動(dòng)聽的聲音，便羨慕地問他們吃些什么，才能發(fā)出如此美妙的聲音來。蚱蜢答道：“吃露水。”

　　驢子便也只吃露水，沒多久就餓死了。

　　The Cock and the Pearl 公雞和珍珠

　　A cock was once strutting1 up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied2 something shinning amid the straw. "Ho! ho!" quoth he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What did it turn out to be but a pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard? "You may be a treasure," quoth master pock, "to men that prize you, but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls."

　　Precious things are for those that can prize them.

　　在農(nóng)場(chǎng)的庭院里有一只公雞正昂首闊步地在一群母雞中間來來回回。突然他瞥到稻草中有什么東西在閃閃發(fā)光。“哈哈”他說“那是我的”。然后迅速把它從稻草中刨了出來。他刨出出來的是一顆不知什么時(shí)候遺落在庭院里的珍珠“你也許這是個(gè)寶貝”，公雞大人說，“對(duì)于人類來說，他們會(huì)珍惜你，但在我看來，我寧可要一粒大麥也不想琢一粒珍珠。”

　　只有懂得價(jià)值的人才會(huì)珍惜寶物。

　　The labourer and the snake 工人和蛇

　　A labourer's little son was bitten by a snake and died of the wound. The father was beside himself with grief, and in his anger against the snake the caught up an axe1 and went and stood close to the snake's hole, and watched for a chance of killing2 it. Presently the snake come out, and the man aimed a blow at it, but only succeeded in cutting of the tip of its tail before it wriggled3 in again. He then tried to get it to come out a second time, pretending that he wished to make up the quarrel. But the snake said, "I can never be your friend because of my lost tail, nor you mine because of your lost child."

　　Injuries are never forgotten in the presence of those who caused them.

　　工人的小兒子被一條毒蛇咬了一口，并且死于蛇傷。悲痛氣憤之余，工人抓起一把斧頭，氣沖沖地跑到蛇洞外，等待機(jī)會(huì)砍死蛇。不久，蛇從洞里出來了，工人立即一斧頭砍過去，可是只砍斷了它的尾巴尖。隨后，工人還想再如法炮制，便假裝想與蛇和解。可是，蛇卻說：“我永遠(yuǎn)也無法成為你的朋友，因?yàn)槲襾G了自己的尾巴，而你卻丟失了兒子。”

　　在造成創(chuàng)傷的雙方心里，永遠(yuǎn)無法忘卻傷痛。