The House Dog and the Wolf

    A lean，hungry wolf met with a plump，well－fed house dog on amoonshiny night．“How is it that you look so sleek¹？”asked the wolf．“Your food obviously agrees with you，while I can hardly keep myself from starving however hard I try．”
    “Well，if you want to eat as I do，you have only to do my job，”said the dog．“What is that？” asked the wolf eagerly，thinking of marrowbones．“Just guard my master's house and keep the thieves away at night．”
    “When can I start？”asked the wolf．“I've had enough of living in the woods in all weathers．I wouldn't mind exchanging it for a warm roof over my head and a plateful of food whenever I need it．”
    “Follow me，then，”said the dog and they trotted³ off towards the house．As they were going along the wolf noticed a mark on the dog's neck．“What is that on your neck？”the wolf asked curiously⁴．“There's apatch of your fur quite rubbed away．”
    “It's nothing．”said the dog sharply．“Oh，just tell me，”said the wolf．“It's nothing，I told you，”said the dog．“It's probably just be－cause of the collar my chain is fastened to．It rubs a bit sometimes．”
    “Chain？”cried the wolf in surprise．“Do you mean that you are not free to come and go as you please？”
    “Perhaps not exactly as I please，”said the dog．“You see they think I am rather fierce so they tie me up during the day．But of course at night I am quite free．Besides，the master feeds me from his own plate，and the servants all scrape me and I am such a favourite andwhat is the matter? where are you going？”
    “I'm off to the woods，”said the wolf over his shoulder，“You can keep your dainty food and your warm roof．I'd rather have a dry crust and be free than have all the marrow² bones in the world at the end of a chain．”
    Freedom is more important than comfort．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ①Whose life do you think is better， the house dog's or the wolf's？ Why？
    ② Why did the wolf prefer to live in the woods？

1 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

2 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

3 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

4 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。