儿童寓言故事：老狮子

 

The sick lion

　　A lion had come to the end of his days. He lay helpless under a tree.

　　The animals came around him. When they saw that he was going to die, they thought to themselves, "Now is the time to pay him back."

　　So the boar came up and rushed at him with his tusks¹.

　　Then a bull gored² him with his horns. The lion still lay helpless before them.

　　So the ass³ felt quite safe. He turned his tail to the lion and kicked up his heels into his face.

　　"This is a double death." growled⁴ the lion.

老狮子

　　一头年老体衰的狮子病得有气无力，奄奄一息地躺在树下。

　　动物们围在他的周围，看到狮子快要死了，就来报复他。

　　一头野猪冲到他身旁，狠狠地咬他。

　　接着，一头野牛也用角来顶他，狮子无助地躺在那里。

　　当驴子看到可以对这庞大的野兽为所欲为时，也用他的蹄子用力去踢狮子的头部。这头快要断气的狮子说：“我已勉强忍受了勇者的施暴，但还得含羞忍受你这个小丑的侮辱，真是死不。

　　寓意: 无论过去多么辉煌，都难以避免辉煌失去后别人的不敬与报复 。

1 tusks   

n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头

参考例句：

• The elephants are poached for their tusks. 为获取象牙而偷猎大象。
• Elephant tusks, monkey tails and salt were used in some parts of Africa. 非洲的一些地区则使用象牙、猴尾和盐。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

2 gored   

v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破( gore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was gored by a bull. 他被公牛顶伤。
• The bull gored the farmer to death. 公牛用角把农夫抵死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

4 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》