1.Making His Mark “刻舟求劍”
A man from the state of Chu was taking a boat across a river when he dropped his sword into the water carelessly. Immediately he made a mark on the side of the boat where the sword dropped, hoping to find it later. When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to search for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. As we know, the boat had moved but the sword had not. Isn’t this a very foolish way to look for a sword?
楚國(guó)有個(gè)人坐船渡江時(shí)，他不小心把自己的一把寶劍掉落江中。他馬上掏出一把小刀，在寶劍落水的船舷上刻上一個(gè)記號(hào)。船靠岸后，那楚人立即從船上刻記號(hào)的地方跳下水去撈取掉落的寶劍。他怎么找得到寶劍呢？船繼續(xù)行駛，而寶劍卻不會(huì)再移動(dòng)。像他這樣去找劍，真是太愚蠢可笑了。
2.To Pull up the Seedlings to Help Them Grow “拔苗助長(zhǎng)”
Once upon a time, there was an old farmer who planted a plot of rice. After he planted the seedlings, every day he went to the field to watch the seedlings grow. He saw the young shoots break through the soil and grow taller each day, but still, he thought they were growing too slowly. Eventually he got impatient with the young plants and suddenly he hit upon an idea that one by one, he pulled up the young plants by half an inch. The next early morning, the young man couldn’t wait to check his “achievement”, but he was heart-broken to see all the pulled-up young plants dying.
從前，有個(gè)農(nóng)夫，種了稻苗（seedlings）后，便希望能早早收成。每天他到稻田時(shí)，都發(fā)覺(jué)那些稻苗長(zhǎng)得非常慢。他等得很不耐煩。想了又想，他終于想到一個(gè)“最佳方法”，他將稻苗全都拔高了幾分。第二天，一早起身，他迫不及待地去稻田看他的“成果”。 哪知，卻看到所有的稻苗都枯萎了。
3.Plugging One’s Ears While Stealing a Bell “掩耳盜鈴”
Once upon a time, there was a man who wanted to steal his neighbor’s doorbell. However, he knew clearly that the bell would ring and catch the other people’s attention as long as he touched the bell. So he thought hard and suddenly hit on a clever “idea”. He plugged his ears with something, thinking that everything would go well when he stole the bell. Unfortunately to his disappointment, the bell still rang loudly and he was caught on the spot as a thief.
從前，有一個(gè)人想偷鄰居門(mén)上的鈴，但是他知道一碰到鈴，鈴就會(huì)響起來(lái)，被人發(fā)現(xiàn)。他想啊想，終于他想出一個(gè)“妙極”，他把自己的耳朵用東西塞起來(lái)，就聽(tīng)不見(jiàn)鈴聲了。但是當(dāng)他去偷鈴時(shí)，鈴聲仍舊響起來(lái)，他被別人當(dāng)場(chǎng)抓住
4.The Fox and the Crow “狐貍和烏鴉”
One day a crow stood on a branch near his nest and felt very happy with the meat in his mouth. At that time, a fox saw the crow with the meat, so he swallowed and eagerly thought of a plan to get the meat. However, whatever the fox said to the crow, the crow just kept silent. Until the fox thought highly of the crow’s beautiful voice, the crow felt flattered and opened his mouth to sing. As soon as the meat fell down to the ground, the fox took the meat and went into his hole.
有一天,一只烏鴉站在窩旁的樹(shù)枝上嘴里叼著一片肉，心里非常高興。這時(shí)候，一只狐貍看見(jiàn)了烏鴉，饞得直流口水，非常想得到那片肉。但是，無(wú)論狐貍說(shuō)什么，烏鴉就是不理睬狐貍。最后，狐貍贊美烏鴉的嗓音最優(yōu)美，并要求烏鴉唱幾句讓他欣賞欣賞。烏鴉聽(tīng)了狐貍贊美的話(huà)，得意極了，就唱起歌來(lái)。沒(méi)想到，肉一掉下來(lái)，狐貍就叼起肉，鉆回了洞
5.Draw a Snake and Add Feet to It “畫(huà)蛇添足”
Long long ago, several people had a jar of wine among them and all of them wanted to drink it by himself. So they set a rule that every one would draw a snake on the ground and the man who finished first would have the wine. One man finished his snake very soon and he was about to drink the wine when he saw the others were still busy drawing, so he decided to draw the feet to the snake. However, before he could finish the feet, another man finished and grabbed the jar from him, saying, "Who has ever seen a snake with feet?” The story of "Draw a snake and add feet to It.” tells us going too far is as bad as not going far enough.
古時(shí)幾個(gè)人分一壺酒。他們都想獨(dú)自喝完那壺酒，所以就定了一個(gè)規(guī)矩：每人在地上畫(huà)一條蛇，誰(shuí)畫(huà)得最快，這壺酒就歸誰(shuí)。有一個(gè)人很快就把蛇畫(huà)好了。他正打算喝這壺酒時(shí)，看見(jiàn)別人都還在忙著畫(huà)，就決定給蛇再畫(huà)上幾只腳。結(jié)果，他的蛇腳還沒(méi)加完，另一個(gè)人已經(jīng)把蛇畫(huà)好了。那人一下把酒壺奪了過(guò)去，說(shuō)：“有誰(shuí)見(jiàn)過(guò)長(zhǎng)腳的蛇？”。這個(gè)故事告訴我們這樣的道理：做得過(guò)分和做得不夠都是不對(duì)的
6.郭氏之墟
On a vacation trip, Duke Huan of the state of Qi came to the ruin of the capital of Guo Shi , which perished long ago.
Seeing the desolate and bleak prospects of broken tiles, collapsed walls, and clusters of weeds, he could not help asking the local people about the reason of the ruin of Guo Shi.
They replied,"Guo Shi was fond of doing good deeds, and averse to evildoing, which led to the perdition."
When the Duke could not understand the answer, people explained ," Though he liked doing good, he had never been able to do so; though he hated evildoing, never could he help not participating. That caused the ruin of his capital."
齊桓公出游途中，來(lái)到已經(jīng)滅亡許久的郭氏都城的廢墟。
看到瓦礫殘?jiān)�、雜草叢生的蕭條景象，忍不住問(wèn)當(dāng)?shù)匕傩展蠝缤龅脑颉?br />百姓們回答說(shuō)："郭氏由于喜愛(ài)善行善事。厭惡邪惡丑行而導(dǎo)致滅亡。"
齊桓公不能理解這種回答，百姓們便解釋說(shuō)："郭氏雖然喜愛(ài)善行善事，但從來(lái)都不能做到；盡管厭惡邪惡丑行，卻總是忍不住參與其中。這就是他的都城變成廢墟的原因。"
7.老鼠和公牛
A mouse once took a bite out of a bull's tail as he lay dozing. The bull jumped up in a rage and, with his head low to the ground, chased the mouse right across the yard. The mouse was too quick for him, however, and slipped easily into a hole in the wall.
The bull charged the wall furiously again and again, but although he bruised his head and chipped his horns, the mouse stayed safely inside his hole. After a time the bull gave up and sank down to rest again.
As soon as the bull was asleep, the little mouse crept to the mouth of the hole, pattered across the yard, bit the bull again -- this time on the nose -- and rushed back to safety. As the bull roared helplessly the mouse squeaked:
"It's not always the big people who come off best. Sometimes the small ones win, you know."
有一次，公牛躺著打盹，一只老鼠咬了他的尾巴。公牛怒氣沖沖地跳起來(lái)，低著頭追老鼠，一直追過(guò)院子。然而，老鼠跑得比他快多了，從容地鉆到墻洞里去了。
公牛一次又一次地猛撞墻壁，盡管頭撞腫了，角撞裂了，老鼠卻安然待在洞里。過(guò)了一會(huì)兒，公牛不撞了，倒下歇著。
公牛剛睡著，小老鼠就爬到洞口，嗒嗒地跑過(guò)院子，又咬了公牛一口 ?? 這回咬了鼻子 ?? 又跑回安全的地方去。當(dāng)公牛毫無(wú)辦法地吼叫時(shí)，老鼠吱吱叫道：
"大人物并不總占上風(fēng)。有時(shí)小人物也會(huì)取勝。"
8.男孩和蕁麻
A boy was playing in the fields when he was stung by a nettle . He ran home to tell his mother what had happened.
"I only touched it lightly," he said, "and the nasty thing stung me."
"It stung you because you only touched it lightly," his mother told him." Next time you touch a nettle grasp it as tightly as you can. Then it won't sting you at all."
Face danger boldly.
有個(gè)男孩子在地里玩耍，被蕁麻刺痛了。他跑回家去，告訴媽媽出了什么事。
"我不過(guò)輕輕地碰了它一下，"他說(shuō)，"那討厭的東西就把我刺痛了。"
"你只輕輕地碰了它一下，所以它才刺痛你，"媽媽對(duì)他說(shuō)，"下一回你再碰到蕁麻，就盡量緊緊地抓住它。那它就根本不會(huì)刺痛你了。"
要敢于面對(duì)危險(xiǎn)。
9.鸚鵡和貓
A man once bought a brilliantly-coloured parrot. Instead of locking it up in a cage or chaining it to a perch, he allowed it to fly free all over the house. The parrot was delighted at this and flapped from room to room, shrieking and screaming with happiness. At last he settled on the edge of a rich curtain.
"Who on earth are you ?" said a cross voice from below. "Stop that terrible noise at once."
The parrot saw a cat staring up at him from the carpet.
"I 'm a parrot. I 've just arrived and I 'm to make as much noise as I can," he said.
"Well, I 've lived here all my life," replied the cat ."I was born in this very house and I learned from my mother that it is best to keep quiet here."
"Keep quiet then, "said the parrot cheerfully. "I don't know what you do around here, but I know my job. My master bought me for my voice and I'm going to make sure he hears it."
Different people are valued for different things.
從前，有人買(mǎi)了一只毛色鮮艷的鸚鵡。他沒(méi)有把鸚鵡關(guān)在籠子里，也沒(méi)有用鏈條把他拴在棲木上，而讓他在家里自由自在地飛來(lái)飛去。鸚鵡對(duì)此非常高興，撲動(dòng)翅膀，從一間屋子飛到另一間屋子，愉快地尖聲叫著，最后停在華麗的帷幔的邊上。
"你到底是誰(shuí)？"從下面?zhèn)鱽?lái)怒氣沖沖的說(shuō)話(huà)聲，"馬上住嘴，別發(fā)出那難聽(tīng)的聲音。"
鸚鵡看見(jiàn)地毯上有一只貓?zhí)ь^看著他。
"我是鸚鵡�！∥覄偟�，我要使勁地吵吵。"他說(shuō)。"那你就一聲不響吧，"鸚鵡歡快地說(shuō)，"我不知道你在這兒干什么，可我知道我的活兒。主人為了我的聲音才買(mǎi)我，我一定得讓他聽(tīng)到。"
不同的人因有不同的特點(diǎn)而受重視。
10.一捆樹(shù)枝
A man once had four sons who never stopped quarrelling with one another. He was always telling them how much easier life would be if they worked together but they took absolutely no notice of him. One day he decided to show them what he meant.
He called all the sons together and put a tightly tied bundle of sticks on the floor in front of them.
"Can you break that ? " he asked the youngest son. The boy put his knee on the bundle but though he pressed and pulled with his arms he could not bend the wood. The father asked each son in turn to try to break the bundle, but none of them could do it .
Then he untied the string and scattered the sticks.
" Now try, " he said . The boys broke the sticks easily in their hands.
"Do you see what I mean ?" asked the father. "if only you stand together no one can hurt you . If you all disagree the whole time and insist on going your separate ways, the first enemy you meet will be able to destroy you. "
United we stand ; divided we fall.
從前有一個(gè)人，他有四個(gè)兒子。兒子們不斷地爭(zhēng)吵。他一再告誡他們說(shuō)，如果他們一起干活兒，生活會(huì)舒適得多，但他們絲毫不理會(huì)他的意見(jiàn)。有一天，他決定通過(guò)示范把自己的意思告訴他們。
他把四個(gè)兒子都叫來(lái)，又把一捆扎得很緊的細(xì)樹(shù)枝放在他們面前的地上。
"你能折斷這個(gè)嗎？"他問(wèn)最小的兒子。小伙子用膝蓋頂住，兩只手又壓又拉，都不能把那捆樹(shù)枝弄彎。父親讓別的兒子挨個(gè)兒試試，看他們是否能把那捆樹(shù)枝折斷，但誰(shuí)也做不到。
然后，他解開(kāi)繩子，把樹(shù)枝撒開(kāi)。
"試試吧。"他說(shuō)。四個(gè)小伙子用手輕輕一撅，樹(shù)枝就斷了。
"你們明白我的意思了嗎？"父親問(wèn)，"只要你們聯(lián)合起來(lái)，誰(shuí)也不能傷害你們。如果你們老吵架，一定要各行其是，那么你們一遇到敵人，就會(huì)被打敗。"
合則存，分則敗。
11.狼和驢
A wolf once met a donkey on the road outside the village.
"I 'm going to eat you up, "said the wolf .
"Certainly, " replied the donkey, thinking fast. "But please don't eat me out here on the road where everyone can see. I shall be so ashamed . Take me into the forest. Don't be afraid that I shall try to escape. Here, tie this rope round your neck and fasten it to my bridle. Then I will lead you to a quiet spot I know."
The wolf thought this was a good idea so he fastened the rope round his neck and knotted it firmly to the donkey's bridle.
"Now I will go wherever you say, " said the donkey.
"Show me the way to your quiet spot , " ordered the wolf.
"Very well," said the donkey, setting off down the road towards the village. As they came to the first houses the wolf began to suspect that he had been tricked.
"This is not the way to the forest, " he said, tugging at his end of the rope. "This road goes to the village."
"Don't worry," said the donkey cheerfully , "This is a short cut. "
The donkey began to trot faster , then to gallop. The rope round the wolf's neck drew tight; in a very short time he was dragged right up to the donkey's door.
The master, his wife and their three sons all came running out to rescue the donkey . They were so angry that they would have killed the wolf there and then. Fortunately for the wolf , however , one of the sons threw a knife at him. The knife missed , but it cut the rope round his neck. The next moment all the family could see was a cloud of dust in the road as the wolf fled to safety in the dark forest.
If you keep your head you will be all right.
有一回，狼在村外的路上碰見(jiàn)驢。
"我要把你吃掉。"狼說(shuō)。
"當(dāng)然可以，"驢靈機(jī)一動(dòng)，回答說(shuō)，"但請(qǐng)不要在這條路上吃，人人都會(huì)看見(jiàn)的， 我會(huì)感到難為情。把我?guī)У缴掷锶グ伞e擔(dān)心我們會(huì)逃跑。喏， 把這根繩子一頭饒?jiān)谀悴弊由�，一頭拴在我的韁繩上，然后我把你帶到一個(gè)我熟悉的安靜的地方去。"
狼認(rèn)為這是個(gè)好主意，于是把繩子饒?jiān)诓弊由�，把另一頭牢牢系在驢韁繩上。
"現(xiàn)在你說(shuō)到什么地方去，我就到什么地方去。"驢說(shuō)。
"帶我到你說(shuō)的那個(gè)安靜的地方去。"狼吩咐道。
"很好。"驢說(shuō)著，就沿通向村子的路走去。他們來(lái)到頭幾所房子附近時(shí)，狼懷疑自己受騙上當(dāng)了。
"這不是到森林去的路，"他使勁拉繩子的一頭說(shuō)， "這條路是到村子里去的。"
"別著急，"驢高興地說(shuō)， "這是一條近路。" 驢加快了步子，接著跑起來(lái)。套在狼脖子上的繩子抽緊了；一會(huì)兒功夫，就把狼拉到驢的家門(mén)口。
驢的主人、主人的妻子和三個(gè)兒子都跑出來(lái)救驢。他們非常生氣，要立即就地把狼打死。不過(guò)，狼很幸運(yùn)，主人的一個(gè)兒子拿刀砍狼，沒(méi)砍著，卻把套在狼脖子上的繩子砍斷了。轉(zhuǎn)眼之間，這一家子看到路上塵土飛揚(yáng)，狼安然逃向黑暗的樹(shù)林里去了。
保持鎮(zhèn)靜，就沒(méi)問(wèn)題。
12.野豬和狐貍
A wild boar was sharpening his tusks against a tree one day when a fox came by.
"What are you doing that for?" asked the fox . "There are no hunters around. Everything looks very peaceful to me ."
"Quite true, "said the boar, "but when the hunter does come with his dogs I shall be too busy running away to have time for this . So let me sharpen my tusks while I can."
Be prepared .
有一天，野豬在樹(shù)上磨牙齒，狐貍走過(guò)來(lái)。
"你為什么干這個(gè)呀？"狐貍問(wèn)，"附近又沒(méi)有獵人，我覺(jué)得平安無(wú)事。"
"不錯(cuò)，"野豬說(shuō)，"但是，如果獵人真的帶著獵狗來(lái)了，我只能逃走，就沒(méi)工夫干這個(gè)了。趁我現(xiàn)在可以磨，就讓我磨磨牙齒吧。"
時(shí)刻準(zhǔn)備著（有備無(wú)患）
13.燕雀處室
The swallows and sparrows are very pleased to find a place on the roof of the hall for their nests.
The mother birds are feeding their babies with pleasure, which assumes a scene of peace and harmony.
But they have never thought of the following scene: the chimney at the top of the kitchen might break, the fire might leap up to the roof and the burning purling might destroy their nests.
But those swallows and sparrows are unmindful of the coming disaster.
They go on with their superficial happiness brought by peace and calm.
燕雀為擁有屋頂下面的一個(gè)位置而欣慰不已。
母鳥(niǎo)用叼來(lái)的食物喂養(yǎng)啁啾鳴叫的幼鳥(niǎo)，整個(gè)兒是一派歡樂(lè)自得的祥和景象。
它們完全沒(méi)有考慮到：爐灶上的煙囪有可能會(huì)炸裂，火苗將會(huì)竄上屋梁，燒著的椽 將會(huì)摧毀它們的巢穴�！�
不知大禍將要降臨到自己頭上的燕雀?jìng)冋诎踩蛔匀舻仄肺哆@表面上的安寧所帶來(lái)的幸福。
14.山
Long ago a great mountain began to rumble and shake .
People came from far and near to see what would happen.
"A great river will be born." said one.
"Surely nothing less than a mighty dragon will come out." said another.
"A god himself will spring form these rocks." said a third.
Finally , after days of expectation a small crack appeared in the mountain. And out popped ---- a mouse.
Just because someone makes a lot of fuss, it doesn't mean he is important.
很久以前，一座大山隆隆作響，搖晃起來(lái)。遠(yuǎn)近各處的人都來(lái)看是怎么回事。
一個(gè)人說(shuō)："要出現(xiàn)一條大河了。"
另一個(gè)人說(shuō)："準(zhǔn)會(huì)出現(xiàn)一條巨龍。"
第三個(gè)人說(shuō)："從這些巖石中會(huì)出現(xiàn)一尊神來(lái)。"
等了幾天之后，山坡上終于裂開(kāi)一條小縫，卻蹦出來(lái)一只耗子。
正因?yàn)槟橙舜笏翉垞P(yáng)，所以他沒(méi)有什么了不起。
15.A Smart Tortoise聰明的烏龜
A tiger is hungry, he is looking for food. He sees a frog in front of him.
“Ha ha! A frog! My dinner!” so he rushes at the frog.
Behind the tiger, there is a tortoise. The little tortoise sees it; he bites the tiger’s tail.
“Ouch!” cries the tiger and he looks back. The frog hears the voice and jumps into water.
“Thank you, little tortoise.” says the frog.
But the tiger is very angry. “Bother it! I’ll throw you to the sky!”
“Thank you, I like flying in the sky,” says the tortoise.
The tiger stops, “I will throw you into the river.”
“Oh,no! I can’t swim; I will die if you throw me into the water.” The tiger threw the tortoise into the water quickly.
“Thank you, Mr. Tiger. Bye-bye.” The tortoise and the frog swim away together.
一只老虎很饑餓，他正在尋找食物。他看到一只青蛙在他前面。
“哈哈！一只青蛙，我有晚餐啦！”于是，他補(bǔ)向青蛙。
在老虎的后邊，有一只烏龜。小烏龜看見(jiàn)了，他猛咬一下啊老虎的尾巴。
“哎呦！”老虎疼得叫起來(lái)并回頭看看。此時(shí)青蛙聽(tīng)見(jiàn)了老虎的聲音，他迅速跳進(jìn)水里。
“謝謝你，小烏龜�！鼻嗤苷f(shuō)。
大事老虎十分憤怒：“討厭！我要把你扔到天上去�！�
“謝謝你，我喜歡在天空飛翔。”烏龜說(shuō)。
老虎停下來(lái)：“那我就把你扔到到水里�！�
“哦，不！我不會(huì)游泳，如果你把我扔井水里我會(huì)死的�！崩匣⒑芸炀桶褳觚斎赃M(jìn)水了。
“謝謝你，老虎先生，再見(jiàn)！”烏龜和青蛙一起游走了。（幼兒教育）