An Eagle was chasing a hare，which was running for dear life and was at her wits’end to know where to turn for help.Presently she espied a Beetle，and begged it to aid her.So when the Eagle came up the Beetle warned her not to touch the hare，which was under its protection.But the Eagle never noticed the Beetle because it was so small，seized the hare and ate her up.The Beetle never forgot this，and used to keep an eye on the Eagle’s nest，and whenever the Eagle laid an egg it climbed up and rolled it out of the nest and broke it.At last the Eagle got so worried over the loss of her eggs that she went up to Jupiter，who is the special protector of Eagles，and begged him to give her a safe place to nest in：so he let her lay her eggs in his lap.But the Beetle noticed this and made a ball of dirt the size of an Eagle’s egg，and ？ew up and deposited it in Jupiter’s lap.When Jupiter saw the dirt，he stood up to shake it out of his robe，and，forgetting about the eggs，he shook them out too，and they were broken just as before.Ever since then，they say，Eagles never lay their eggs at the season when Beetles are about.
The weak will sometimes find ways to avenge an insult，even upon the strong.
｛中文阅读｝
一只鹰正在奋力追一只兔子，而兔子则拼命奔跑，一筹莫展地不知该到哪里寻求帮助。这时，她恰巧看见一只甲虫，便向他求救。于是，当老鹰过来时，甲虫便警告她不要碰那只兔子。老鹰根本没有把小小的甲虫放在眼里，因为它实在太不起眼了，终于还是抓住兔子并吃了她。甲虫一直没有忘记这件事，经常关注着老鹰的巢，只要老鹰一下蛋，他便悄悄地爬上去，把老鹰蛋滚出巢来摔碎它。后来，老鹰十分担心再丢失自己的蛋，便跑到朱庇特（鹰的特别守护神）那里，请求给自己一个安全的地方生儿育女。于是，朱庇特让她在自己的膝上下蛋。然而，甲虫也注意到了此事，就做了一个和鹰蛋差不多大小的泥球，然后飞上去，把它扔到了朱庇特的膝盖上。朱庇特一看是泥球，马上站起身来抖擞自己的长袍，浑然忘记了膝上还有老鹰下的蛋，无意间把蛋也抖落了，老鹰的蛋像之前那样摔了个粉碎。据说，从那以后，在甲虫出现的时节，老鹰就再也不下蛋了。
即便对手是强者，弱者有时也会想方设法地报仇雪耻。
THE FOWLER AND THE LARK
捕鸟人和百灵鸟
A Fowler was setting his nets for little birds when a Lark came up to him and asked him what he was doing.“I am engaged in founding a city，”said he，and with that he withdrew to a short distance and concealed himself.The Lark examined the nets with great curiosity，and presently，catching sight of the bait，hopped on to them in order to secure it，and became entangled in the meshes.The Fowler then ran up quickly and captured her.“What a fool I was！”said she：“but at any rate，if that’s the kind of city you are founding，it’ll be a long time before you ？nd fools enough to ？ll it.”
｛中文阅读｝
一个捕鸟人正在撒网，好让小鸟们自投罗网。这时，一只百灵鸟走过来，问他在干什么。“我正在建造一座漂亮的城市。”捕鸟人回答道，说完就跑到远处藏起来。百灵鸟带着极大的好奇心，跑过去想看个究竟，她小心地冲着网中的诱饵跳过去，结果却被缠在网中。捕鸟人很快跑过来，抓住了她。百灵鸟说：“我可真是个傻瓜！但无论如何，如果这就是你建造的城市，那么估计要花很长时间才能找到足够多的傻瓜来填补空缺！”
THE FISHERMAN PIPING
吹笛子的渔夫
A Fisherman who could play the flute went down one day to the sea-shore with his nets and his flute；and，taking his stand on a projecting rock，began to play a tune，thinking that the music would bring the fish jumping out of the sea.He went on playing for some time，but not a fish appeared：so at last he threw down his？ute and cast his net into the sea，and made a great haul of ？sh.When they were landed and he saw them leaping about on the shore，he cried，“You rascals！you wouldn’t dance when I piped：but now I’ve stopped，you can do nothing else！”
｛中文阅读｝
有一天，一个会吹长笛的渔夫带着笛子和渔网来到海边，他站在一块突出海面的岩石上，开始吹奏曲子，希望用笛声引诱鱼儿跳出海面。渔夫弹奏了一会儿，没有一条鱼出来。最后，他把长笛放到一边，撒网入海，却捞起满网的鱼。当渔夫把网拖上岸后，看见鱼儿在岸边不停地跳跃，他便说：“你们这些淘气鬼！我吹笛子时，你们不肯跳；现在我不吹了，你们却在这里欢蹦乱跳！”
THE WEASEL AND THE MAN
黄鼠狼和人
A Man once caught a Weasel，which was always sneaking about the house，and was just going to drown it in a tub of water，when it begged hard for its life，and said to him，“Surely you haven’t the heart to put me to death？Think how useful I have been in clearing your house of the mice and lizards which used to infest it，and show your gratitude by sparing my life.”“You have not been altogether useless，I grant you，”said the Man：“but who killed the fowls？Who stole the meat？No，no！You do much more harm than good，and die you shall.”
｛中文阅读｝
从前，有一个人抓住了一只黄鼠狼，它总是在房子里偷偷摸摸。这人正要用一盆水淹死它时，黄鼠狼苦苦哀求人饶了自己的性命，并且对人说：“你一定不忍心杀了我！想想我对你们家做的贡献吧，我可是一直在清理你家里的老鼠和蜥蜴，为了显示你对我的感激之情，就饶我一命吧。”“我也承认，你并非完全无用，”男人说，“但是，是谁杀了鸡？是谁偷了肉？不，不！你做了太多坏事，理应去死。”
THE PLOUGHMAN，THE ASS，AND THE OX
农夫、驴和公牛
A Ploughman yoked his Ox and his Ass together，and set to work to plough his field.It was a poor makeshift of a team，but it was the best he could do，as he had but a single Ox.At the end of the day，when the beasts were loosed from the yoke，the Ass said to the Ox，“Well，we’ve had a hard day：which of us is to carry the master home？”The Ox looked surprised at the question.“Why，”said he，“you，to be sure，as usual.”
｛中文阅读｝
农夫给他的公牛和驴一起套上牛轭，然后赶着它们下地犁田。这是一个糟糕的临时组合，但农夫已经尽力了，因为他只有一头公牛。干了一天活后，牲口被主人从牛轭里解放出来，驴对牛说：“我们可是度过了艰难的一天，我们两个当中，谁载着主人回家呢？”听了驴的话，牛似乎很惊讶，“怎么这么问呢，”他说，“当然是你，像往常一样。”
DEMADES AND HIS FABLE
狄马德斯和他的寓言
Demades the orator was once speaking in the Assembly at Athens；but the people were very inattentive to what he was saying，so he stopped and said，“Gentlemen，I should like to tell you one of Aesop’s fables.”This made every one listen intently.Then Demades began：“Demeter，a Swallow，and an Eel were once travelling together，and came to a river without a bridge：the Swallow ？ew over it，and the Eel swam across”；and then he stopped.“What happened to Demeter？”cried several people in the audience.“Demeter，”he replied，“is very angry with you for listening to fables when you ought to be minding public business.”
｛中文阅读｝
有一次，演说家狄马德斯在雅典的一次集会上演讲，但是没有一个人认真听，他便停下来，说：“先生们，我很想告诉你们一个伊索寓言里的故事。”这话受到了人们的重视。接着，他开始说：“有一次，得墨忒耳（掌管农业、结婚、丰饶的女神）和一只燕子、一条鳗鱼一同出行，他们要穿过一条没有桥的河，燕子飞过去了，鳗鱼游过去了。”讲到这里，他便停下来，不再讲了。听众中有几个人问他：“那么得墨忒耳怎么过去的呢？”他回答说：“得墨忒耳正在生你们的气呢，因为你们对公共事务毫无兴趣，一心只喜欢听伊索寓言。”
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THE MONKEY AND THE DOLPHIN
猴子和海豚
