The Mouse and the Elephant

    A young mouse had just arrived from Athens where he had ac-quired a smattering of learning．He was very proud of this little wisdom that he had learnt from the books he had studied．Puffed¹ up with pride and conceit² and anxious to display his wit he thus one day ad-dressed an elephant，“Because nature has made you so large you need not be so pompous³ in your gait．It is true that you are big in size but this has no value；because to my way of thinking it is a great disadvantage．You are too big for nimble motion．Your gait is slow and sluggish⁴．But look at me！I am made to fly．I can skip about from place to place．But you are lazy and must stop to breathe at each creeping step．Poor beast you are．And each time I examine your bulk I really pity—”
    The proud mouse did not finish his speech to the elephant，be-cause just as he was about to conclude his oration，a cat who had grown tired of listening to his words of wisdom，pounced upon him and ate him up．This experiment that the cat performed proved that there is a great difference between mice and elephants．

1 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

3 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

4 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。