The Crane，the Crow and the Countryman

    A crane and a crow made a league on oath，providing that the crane should protect the crow against other birds，and that the crow should foretell¹ the future，so that the crane could be on her guard．After this，they flew as usual into the fields of a certain countryman and pulled out wholely what had been sown．The owner of the fields saw it，and being vexed，cried out：“Give me a stone，boy，so that I may hit the crane．”When the crow heard this，she warned the crane at once，who took all due precautions．On another day，the crow，having heard him ask for a stone，a-gain warned the crane carefully to avoid the danger．The countryman，suspecting that the divine bird heard his commands，said to the boy，“If I say，give me a cake，you secretly hand me a stone．”The crane came again；he bade the boy give him a cake，then the boy gave him a stone，with which he hit the crane，and broke her legs．The crane，on being wounded said：“Prophetic crow，where now are your auspices²！Why did you not hasten to warn your companion，as you swore you would，so that no such evil might befall me？”The crow answered：“It is not my art that deserves to be blamed；but the behaviour of those double-tongued people are so deceitful who say one thing and do another．”
    Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ①What was the oath between a crane and a crow？
    ②What did they often do？
    ③What did the farmer say to his child？
    ④Was the crane wounded？What can we learn from this fable³？

1 foretell   

v.预言，预告，预示

参考例句：

• Willow trees breaking out into buds foretell the coming of spring.柳枝绽青报春来。
• The outcome of the war is hard to foretell.战争胜负难以预卜。

2 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

3 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。