The Raven and the Swan乌鸦和天鹅A RAVEN saw a Swan and desired to secure for himself the same beautiful plumage. Supposing that the Swan's splendid white color arose from his washing in the water in which he swam, the Raven left the altars in the neighborhood where he picked up his living, and took up residence in the lakes and pools. But cleansing his feathers as often as he would, he could not change their color, while through want of food he perished.Change of habit cannot alter Nature.乌鸦非常羡慕天鹅洁白的羽毛。
他猜想天鹅一定是经常洗澡，羽毛才变得如此洁白无瑕。
于是，他毅然离开了他赖以生存的祭坛，来到江湖边。
他天天洗刷自己的羽毛，不但一点都没洗白，反而因缺少食物饥饿而死。
这故事是说，人的本性不会随着生活方式的改变而改变。
The Goat and the Goatherd 山羊与牧羊人A GOATHERD had sought to bring back a stray goat to his flock. He whistled and sounded his horn in vain; the straggler paid no attention to the summons. At last the Goatherd threw a stone, and breaking its horn, begged the Goat not to tell his master. The Goat replied, "Why, you silly fellow, the horn will speak though I be silent."Do not attempt to hide things which cannot be hid.很多山羊被牧羊人赶到羊圈里。
有一只山羊不知在吃什么好东西，单独落在后面。
牧羊人拿起一块石头扔了过去，正巧打断了山羊的一只角。
牧羊人吓得请求山羊不要告诉主人，山羊说：“即使我不说，又怎能隐瞒下去呢？我的角已断了，这是十分明显的事实。
”这故事说明，明显的罪状是无法隐瞒的。
The Wolf and the Lamb 狼与小羊WOLF, meeting with a Lamb astray from the fold, resolved not to lay violent hands on him, but to find some plea to justify to the Lamb the Wolf's right to eat him. He thus addressed him:"Sirrah, last year you grossly insulted me." "Indeed," bleated theLamb in a mournful tone of voice, "I was not then born." Then said the Wolf , "You feed in my pasture." "No, good sir," replied the Lamb, "I have not yet tasted grass." Again said the Wolf, "You drink of my well." "No," exclaimed the Lamb, "I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me." Upon which the Wolf seized him and ate him up, saying, "Well! I won't remain supperless, even though you refute every one of my imputations."The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny.一只小羊在河边喝水，狼见到后，便想找一个名正言顺的借口吃掉他。
于是他跑到上游，恶狠狠地说小羊把河水搅浑浊了，使他喝不到清水。
小羊回答说，他仅仅站在河边喝水，并且又在下游，根本不可能把上游的水搅浑。
狼见此计不成，又说道：“我父亲去年被你骂过。
”小羊说，那时他还没有出生。
狼对他说：“不管你怎样辩解，反正我不会放过你。
”这说明，对恶人做任何正当的辩解也是无效的。
The Bat and the Weasels蝙蝠与黄鼠狼A BAT who fell upon the ground and was caught by a Weasel pleaded to be spared his life. The Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the enemy of all birds. The Bat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus was set free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the ground and was caught by another Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel said that he had a special hostility to mice. The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bat, and thus a second time escaped.It is wise to turn circumstances to good account.蝙蝠掉落在地上，被黄鼠狼叼去，他请求饶命。
黄鼠狼说绝不会放过他，自己生来痛恨鸟类。
蝙蝠说他是老鼠，不是鸟，便被放了。
后来蝙蝠又掉落了下来，被另一只黄鼠狼叼住，他再三请求不要吃他。
这只黄鼠狼说他恨一切鼠类。
蝙蝠改口说自己是鸟类，并非老鼠，又被放了。
这样，蝙蝠两次改变了自己的名字，终于死里逃生。
这故事说明，我们遇事要随机应变方能避免危险。
The House of 1000 Mirrors千镜之屋Long ago in a small, faraway village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he hounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and firendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?Giving the Seeding a HandLong long ago, in ancient China, there lived a farmer .He was worried about his seeding growing too slowly .One day ,he went to the farmland and pulled up the seeding one by one .When he returned home ,he was very exhausted."I am tired out today，”he said to his family ,"I helped the seeding to grow."His son was surprised . He hurried to the fields to see what had happened .It turned out that all the seeding had shriveled up.拔苗助长从前，有一个农民总是担心自己种的秧苗长得太慢。