蟬和杜鵑鳥

Cicada and cuckoo lived in the same thick woods.

Cicada used to climb to the tall maple tree flapping its wings there and singing loudly. Its voice could be heard far off in the mountains and forests.

Cuckoo， meanwhile， had a pair of colorful wings， a small golden mouth，and a beautiful voice.It was very talkative， and talked on and on everyday.What it liked best was the shiny and sweet dew on the green leaves.

But cicada and cuckoo used to quarrel with each other， for they had different wishes and requirements.

Cicada wished the sun would shine warmly everyday so that it could sing to its heart's content. Cuckoo， however， wished it would rain everyday so that it could drink cool dew any time.

One day， cicada and cuckoo quarreled again.

\"I'd rather it was sunny!\" said cicada.

\"I'd rather it was rainy!\" said cuckoo.

They quarreled and quarreled and their voices grew louder and louder，their faces and ears red with excitement， but still nobody could win.Neither of them could convince the other as to which way was better.

They came to thrush and asked it to decide which was more reasonable.Thrushsaid，\"Iambusy everyday. You'd better go to ask someone else's opinion.\"

They came to an old farmer and asked him to decide who was right. The old farmer fondled his gray beard and judged for the two guests from the forest， \"Please think about it. If it is sunny every day， won't all the living things be burned to death by the sun? If it is rainy every day， won't everything on the earth get drowned by floods?\"

The old farmer concluded， \"If a person only satisfies his own desire and neglects the whole world， he will not be benefited at all.\"

Cicada and cuckoo thought the older farmer's talk was sensible and they no longer had anything to argue about and each went back to its own woods quietly.

蟬和杜鵑同住在茂密的樹林里。

蟬經(jīng)常爬到高高的楓樹上，振翅高歌，在山林深處都能聽到它的歌聲。

杜鵑有一對(duì)彩色的翅膀、一張金色的小嘴、一副好聽的嗓子。它能說會(huì)道，一天到晚不停地說。它最喜歡綠葉上晶瑩、香甜的露水。

蟬和杜鵑整天吵嘴，因?yàn)樗鼈兏饔凶约旱南敕ê鸵蟆?/p>

蟬希望天天烈日當(dāng)空，暖洋洋的，好讓自己盡情高歌。杜鵑希望天天下雨，那樣自己可以隨時(shí)喝到清涼的露水。

有一天，它們又吵了起來。

蟬說:“艷陽(yáng)高照好!”

杜鵑說:“下雨好!”

你一句，我一句，聲音越來越高，爭(zhēng)得面紅耳赤，不分勝負(fù)。誰(shuí)也無法說服對(duì)方。

它們到畫眉那里，請(qǐng)畫眉鳥來評(píng)評(píng)理。畫眉說:“我很忙。你們還是找別人吧。”

它們又來到一個(gè)老農(nóng)夫那里，請(qǐng)他評(píng)評(píng)理。老農(nóng)夫捋著花白的胡須，為這兩位森林來客評(píng)理。

他說:“讓我們?cè)O(shè)想一下。要是每天都是烈日當(dāng)空，那么地上的萬(wàn)物不都給曬死了嗎?要是每天都下雨，那么地上的萬(wàn)物不都給淹死了嗎?”

老農(nóng)夫接著說:

“如果人只顧滿足自己的私欲，不顧及世間萬(wàn)物，到頭來自己也不會(huì)得到任何好處的。”

蟬和杜鵑鳥聽了，覺得老農(nóng)夫的話很有道理。它們不再爭(zhēng)辯，悄悄回到密林去了。