寓言故事之五
The old woman and her Servants
The women had two servants whom she used to call to work as soon as she heard the rooster cry in the morning.
The servants hated getting up so early in the morning and decide to kill the rooster,since it was his cry that meant they had to start work.
But with the rooster dead,the woman did not know what time it was,and often woke the servants in the middle of night.
Moral:Those who try too hard to be clever often create bigger problems for themselves
The one-eye Deer
A deer,who could only see out of one eye,used to eat as near to the sea as she possibly could,to be safe.
She turned her good eye towards the land,so she could see any danger coming.
and she turned her bad eye towards the sea,as she thought there was no danger.
Some boatmen,sailing by,saw her and shot her.
She said before dying,"I was wrong to be worried about danger from the land".
After all ,this beach which I came to for safety is much more dangerous.
Moral:Danger sometimes comes from a place we don't expect.
The Peacock and the Swallow
The Peacock kept waving his beautiful,brightly-colored feathers back and forth.
the peacock kept waving his beautiful ,bright-colored feathers back and forth.
while he argued with the small,brown-winged swallow about which one of them as the best.
The swallow finally replied,"you may make fun of the color of my wings,but i am small and light ,and can rise on these wings high up into the sky.
You,on the other hand,can only flap those beautiful feathers of yours down there on the groud,just like a chicken.
Those fine feathers you are so proud of only weigh you down!"
Moral:We travel furthest and highest when we let go of our pride.
The peacock elected King of the birds
All the birds met together to choose a king for themselves.
The peacock said to the other birds,
"I should be king,because I am by far the best-looking and handsomest of all the birds."
The other birds all agreed.However,the wise raven stepped forward among them and said to the peacock.
"You are indeed a very beautiful bird.But please tell me,if you become king,what will you do when the eagle attacks us?
You may be good-looking,but are you strong enough to protect us from his strength,speed,and cruelty?
Moral:Don't choose your rulers for their attractiveness.
The Pig and the sheep
A pig found his way into a field where a group of sheep were eating grass.
The farmer caught him,and was carrying him off to the butcher's when the pig made a loud noise and tried to get free.
The sheep,annoyed by this,said to him,"The farmer often catches us and takes us away just like that,and we don't say anything.
"No,I'm sure you don't,",replied the pig;
"but our situations are different.
He only wants you for wool,but he wants me for food."
Moral:We have great powers that come to us only in an emergency.
