The Foolish Lion

向紅

In a forest， there lived a lion. He had grown old slowly and could not run fast anymore. As days went by， it became more and more difficult for him to hunt1.

在一片森林里面，住著一頭獅子。它慢慢地變老，再也跑不快了。時(shí)間一天天過去，捕獵對(duì)于它來說越來越困難。

One day， while he was wandering through the forest in search of food， he came across a cave. He looked in and smelt the air inside the cave. “Some animal must be staying here，” he said to himself. He crept2 inside the cave only to find it empty. “I will hide inside and wait for the animal to return，” he thought.

有一天，它想穿過森林去尋找食物的時(shí)候，剛好經(jīng)過一個(gè)山洞。它向山洞里面看了看并嗅了嗅，自言自語道：“這里肯定有動(dòng)物居住?！彼那拿M(jìn)洞里卻發(fā)現(xiàn)里面是空的。它想：“我要藏在里面，等它回來?！?/p>

The cave was the home of a jackal3. Every day， the jackal would go out in search of food in the morning and return to the cave in the evening to rest. This evening， the jackal after having his meal started towards home. But as he was closer to his home， he felt something wrong. Everything around him very was quiet. “There must be something wrong”， the jackal said to himself. “Why are all the birds and insects4 so silent？”

這個(gè)山洞是一只豺狗的家。每天，豺狗清早出門尋找獵物，直到晚上才會(huì)回到家里休息。這天晚上，豺狗用完餐準(zhǔn)備回家。但是當(dāng)它離家越近，就越覺得有什么事情不對(duì)勁，周圍的一切都顯得格外安靜。豺狗自言自語道：“肯定有什么事情不對(duì)，不然為什么昆蟲鳥兒都這么安靜呢？”

Very slowly and carefully， he walked towards his cave. He looked around him， watching for any signs of danger. As he got closer to the mouth of the cave， all his instinct5 reminded him of danger. “I have to make sure that everything is alright，” thought the jackal. Suddenly， he thought of a plan.

它謹(jǐn)慎地慢慢向自己的山洞靠近，環(huán)顧四周，看看有沒有危險(xiǎn)的跡象。當(dāng)它離洞口越來越近的時(shí)候，直覺提醒它，這里會(huì)有危險(xiǎn)。豺狗想：“我必須確定這里安全才好?！蓖蝗?，它想到一個(gè)主意。

The clever jackal called out to the cave. “Hello， my good cave， what happened to you today？ Why are you so quiet？”

聰明的豺狗對(duì)著山洞喊道：“你好呀，我親愛的山洞，你今天怎么了？為什么這么安靜呢？”

The jackals voice echoed6 deep inside the cave. The lion， who by now could control his hunger no longer， thought to himself， “I think it is because I am here so that the cave is silent. Before the jackal realizes that something is wrong， I should do something.

豺狗的聲音在深深的山洞里面回響著。獅子再也忍受不了饑餓的折磨了，它心里暗自回應(yīng)道：“因?yàn)榻裉煳以谶@兒，所以如此安靜。我覺得我應(yīng)該在豺狗意識(shí)到危險(xiǎn)之前做點(diǎn)什么才好。”

At that time， the jackal continued to call out， “Have you forgotten our agreement， cave？ You are supposed to greet me when I return home”. The lion heard and thought it is a good chance. So， he tried to make his voice sound hollow and called out from within the cave， “Welcome home， my friend”.

這時(shí)，豺狗繼續(xù)朝著山洞喊道：“山洞，你忘記我們的約定了嗎？你應(yīng)該在我每天回來的時(shí)候跟我問好的。”獅子聽到這句話心想，這可是一個(gè)好機(jī)會(huì)。于是，獅子嘗試壓低聲音，在洞里說道：“歡迎回家，我的朋友。”

The birds chirped loudly and flew away on hearing the lions roar7. As for the jackal， he shook with fear. Before the hungry lion could pounce8 on him and eat him up， the jackal ran for his dear life as fast as his legs could carry him.

嘰嘰喳喳的鳥兒們聽到獅子的聲音后都倉皇飛走了。至于豺狗，它嚇了一跳。在饑餓的獅子出來把自己撲倒吃掉以前，它以最快的速度拼命地逃跑了。

The lion waited for a long， while the jackal did not enter the cave. But when the jackal did not come in， the lion realized that he had been fooled. He regretted himself for his foolishness that made him lose a prey9.

獅子等了很久也不見豺狗走進(jìn)山洞。豺狗沒進(jìn)來，獅子意識(shí)到自己被耍了。它很后悔，是自己的愚蠢導(dǎo)致錯(cuò)失了獵物。

Notes

1. hunt [] v. 打獵;搜尋

2. creep [] v. 爬行;蔓延;慢慢地移動(dòng)

3. jackal [] n. [脊椎] 豺;豺狗

4. insect [] n. 昆蟲

5. instinct [] n. 本能，直覺;天性

6. echo [] v. 隨聲附和;發(fā)出回聲

7. roar [] n. 咆哮;吼;轟鳴

8. pounce [] v. 突襲，猛撲

9. prey [] n. 捕食;犧牲者;被捕食的動(dòng)物