27、晨读夜诵，英语小故事（中英对照）“最伟大的礼物”

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27、晨读夜诵，英语小故事（中英对照）“最伟大的礼物”

经典英语童话故事中英对照

有没有中英结合的英语小故事啊？

简短的英语小故事(中英双译

一、27、晨读夜诵，英语小故事（中英对照）“最伟大的礼物”

正文

At one stopover（中途停留） in a town, a huge banner was written in bold（黑体的） letters: FAMINE（饥荒） IN AFRICA~PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY TO SAVE THE STARVING PEOPLE. A large crowd was queuing to hand over their donations.

镇上的一处集聚点挂起了巨大的横幅，上面用粗体写着一行字：“非洲正闹饥荒——请您伸出援手救救饥饿的人们。”有一大群人排着队纷纷捐钱捐物。

Near the door of the town hall stood a beautiful young girl, poorly but neatly dressed. With shy glances she watched the people before her.

镇办公大厅门边站着一个漂亮的小姑娘，衣着朴素却很整洁。她害羞地看着队伍前面的人们，

She saw a merchant who laid a bag of gold on the table. Then came a rich lady with haughty （傲慢地）looks who offered a variety of jewels; some others handed cash, clothing and foodstuff.

只见一个商人在桌上放下了一袋金子，一个阔气的女士一脸傲慢地过来捐了各式珠宝；还有的人捐现金、衣物还有食品。

The girl was reluctant to take her turn but at last, summoning（召唤） up her courage, she stepped forward. “But... it is so small I am ashamed to offer it. It seems worthless, but it is all I have,” she said.

轮到小姑娘了，她开始有点勉强，但最后还是鼓起勇气走上前去。“呃……我捐的东西微不足道，我都不好意思拿出来。它可能看上去不值钱，但我只有这个了。”她说。

“We are grateful for even the smallest offering,” the man at the counter replied kindly. “Here it is, I have nothing else to give,” she added timidly（胆怯的）.

“您捐什么我们都感激您，多不起眼都没关系。”柜台上的人亲切地回答。“给你，我只有这个了。”她胆怯地说。

She drew under her cloak（披风） two long thick plaits （辫子）of her golden hair. As she did so, the hood of her cloak fell back, showing the beautifully young head shorn of its golden glory.

只见小姑娘从披风里扯出两根粗粗的金色发辫，披风的帽子瞬间滑落下来，露出了小姑娘刚剪的一头漂亮的金色短发。

The generosity of this beautiful girl to donate her most priceless（无价的） possession, her golden locks of hair, overshadowed all the glittering （闪闪发光的）gold or jewels of the other donors.

这位漂亮姑娘慷慨捐赠自己的无价之宝，她金色的头发比其他人捐出的耀眼的金子和珠宝还要光彩夺目。

生词

stopover [ˈstɒpəʊvə(r)] n.停留地

plait [plæt] n.发辫

hood [hʊd] n.兜帽

每一双向贫弱者伸出的援助之手，都来自守护人间温暖的天使。

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一、经典英语童话故事中英对照

　　如果觉得学英语觉得枯燥的话，可以加点乐趣的元素进去。我在此献上 英语 故事 ，希望对你有所帮助。

　　 英语 童话故事 ：自私的巨人

　　Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.

　　每天下午，孩子们放学回来，总会去巨人的花园里玩耍。

　　It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.

　　这是一个可爱的大花园，长满了柔嫩的青草。草丛间到处盛开着美丽的鲜花，如繁星点点。花园里还有十二棵桃树，每到春天，粉红色和珍珠色的花朵姣美诱人，到了秋天树上果实累累。鸟儿栖息在枝头动听地唱着，孩子们都禁不住停止游戏，细心聆听。“我们在这儿多么快乐!”他们互相欢叫。

　　One day the Giant came back. 1-1e had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle.When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

　　有一天巨人回来了。他去 拜访 康沃尔的怪物朋友，和他一起住了七年。七年结束了，巨人说完了想说的话，因为他的话总有个尽头，他决定回到自己的城堡。当他到家的时候，看见孩子们正在花园里玩耍。

　　"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.

　　“你们在这儿做什么‘!”他非常粗暴地喊道，孩子们跑开了。

　　"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.

　　“我自己的花园就是我自己的，”巨人说道，“随便什么人都明白。除了我以外，我不允许任何人在花园里玩。”于是他在花园的四周砌起了高高的围墙，支起一块告示牌。

　　TRESPASSERS

　　越界者

　　WILL BE

　　将会

　　PROSECUTED

　　受到重惩

　　He was a very selfish Giant.

　　他是一个非常自私的巨人。

　　The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.

　　可怜的孩子们没有玩的去处了。他们试着在公路上玩.但是公路上尘土飞扬，到处是坚硬的石子.他们并不喜欢那里。功课结束之后，他们常常在高高的城墙外徘徊，互相谈论着墙内漂亮的花园。“我们从前在那里多么快乐呀!”他们互相说着。

　　Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go.He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.

　　春天到了，整个村庄到处盛开着小花，到处都有气小鸟欢唱。只有自私的巨人的花园里依然是冬天。鸟儿们不愿意去那儿歌唱，因为那里没有孩子们的踪迹，树木也忘了开花。一次，一朵美丽的花儿从草间伸出头来，可是当它看到告示牌的时候，它为孩子们感到难过，又把头缩回到地里，继续沉睡。唯一高兴的是白雪和 霜降 。“春天忘记了这座花园，”他们嚷道，“那么我们可以常年住在这里了。”雪用她厚重的白色外衣覆盖住草地，霜降给所有的树木刷上了银色的外衣。之后他们还邀请北风来和他们同住，北风来了。他裹在毛皮里，整日在花园里呼啸，还吹掉了烟囱管帽。“这是一个让人愉悦的地方，”他说，‘我们一定要叫冰雹来做客。”于是冰雹也来了。每天他都要在城堡的屋顶连续不断地敲打三个小时，直到大部分瓦片被砸破为止，然后他又以最快的速度绕着花园奔跑。他穿着一身灰衣，气息如冰一般。

　　I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the selfish Giant,as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."

　　“我不懂为什么春天迟迟不来，”自私的巨人说，他坐在窗边，看着寒冷的雪白的花园，“我希望天气会变好一些。”

　　But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.

　　但是春天始终没来，夏天也没有降临。秋天给每座花园送去了金色的果实，却没有给巨人的花园送来什么。“他太自私了，”秋天这样说。所以，巨人的花园里总是严冬，北风、冰雹、霜冻和雪花纷纷在树木间舞蹈。

　　 英语童话故事：丑小鸭

　　One evening, the sun was just setting in with true splendor when a flock of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes. The duckling had never seen anything so beautiful.They were dazzlingly white with long waving necks. They were swans and uttering a peculiar cry. They spread out their magnificent broad wings and flew away from the cold regions toward warmer lands and open seas.

　　一天晚上，太阳正在下山，夕阳辉煌绚烂，一群漂亮的大鸟灌术丛中飞过来。丑小鸭从未看到过如此美丽的东西，他们长着弯曲的长颈，羽毛自得耀眼。他们是天鹅，发出一种奇特的叫声。他们展开美丽的宽阔的翅膀，离开寒冷的地区，向温暖的陆地和广阔的海洋飞去。

　　They mounted so high, so very high, and the ugly little duckling became strangely uneasy. He circled around and around in the water like a wheel, craning his neck out into the air after them. Then he uttered the shriek so piercing and so strange that he was quite frightened by himself. Oh, he could not forget those beautiful birds, those happy birds.And

　　as soon as they were out of sight, he ducked right down to the bottom and when he came up again, he was quite beside himself. He did not know what the birds were or where'd they flew. But all the same, he was more drawn towards them than he had ever been by any creatures before. He did not envy them in the least.e How could it occur to him even to

　　wish to be such a remarkable beauty'? How thankful he would be if only the ducks would have tolerated him among them, poor ugly creature.

　　他们飞得那么高，那么高远，丑小鸭变得莫名地不安。他像轮子一样在水面上转着圈，跟他们一样把脖子伸到空中。然后，他发出一声尖叫，声音如此清澈，如此陌生，他被自己吓了一大跳。哦，他忘不了那些美丽的鸟儿，那些快乐的鸟儿。等他们在视野中消失，他迅速俯冲到水底，当他再探出水面的时候，他感到异常地激动。他不知道那些是什么鸟，或者他们要飞向哪里。但是，他深深地被他们吸引，这种吸引力超过了他以前见过的任何生物。他一点也不嫉妒他们。他甚至希望自己变得那样美丽，他怎么莫名其妙地会有这种想法呢?只要鸭子们会容忍他，接受他，他就感激不尽了，可怜的丑东西。

　　Early in the morning, a peasant came along and saw him. he went out onto the ice and hammered a hole in it with his heavy wooden shoe, and carried the duckling home to his wife. There, it soon revived. The children wanted to play with it. But the duckling thought they were going to ill use him and rushed in and he frightened to the milk-pan, and the milk spurted out all over the room. The woman shrieked and threw up her hands. Then it flew to the butter-cask and down into the meal-tub and out again. Oh, just imagine what it looked like by this time. The woman screamed and tried to hit it with the tongs, and the children tumbled over one another in trying to catch it, and they screamed with laughter.

　　清晨，一个农民走过来看见了他，他走到冰面上，用厚重的木鞋在冰面上砸了一个洞，把小鸭子带回家给他的妻子。在那里，丑小鸭很快苏醒了。孩子们想和他玩耍，但他以为他们要伤害自己，惶恐不已，冲进了牛奶盘里，牛奶溅得满屋子都是。女主人尖叫着，把她的手高高举起。之后小鸭飞进了黄油罐和面粉桶，又蹿了出来。噢，想象一下这时他的模样吧。女主人惊叫着，试图用钳子打他，孩子们想捉住他，结果绊倒在一起，他们大笑着，大叫着。

　　By good luck, the door stood open and the duckling flew out among the bushes and the new fallen snow. And it lay there, extremely exhausted, but it would be too sad to mention all the privation he had to go through during that hard winter. When the sun began to shine warmly again, the duckling was in a marsh, lying among the rushes. The birds were singing, and the beautiful spring had come. Then all at once, he raised his wings and they flapped with much greater strength than before and bore him off.Before he knew where he was, he found himself in a large garden with the apple trees in full blossom. And the air was scented with lilacs, the long branches of which overhung the shores.Oh, the spring freshness was so pleasant. Just in front of him, he saw three beautiful white swans advancing towards him from a thicket. With rustling feathers, they swam lightly over the water. The duckling recognized the majestic birds, and he was overcome by a strange melancholy.

　　很幸运，门是开着的，小鸭飞出去蹿进了灌木丛，又一场雪花飘落。他躺在那里，筋疲力尽，提起这个严冬里他所经历的一切困苦，他伤心不已。当太阳又开始温暖地照耀，小鸭在一片沼泽中，躺在芦苇里。鸟儿在歌唱，美丽的春天已经来了。忽然，他高举起翅膀，用尽前所未有的力气使劲扇动着，他飞起来了。在他知道身在何处之前，他发现自己正在一个大花园里，苹果树开满了花。空气中弥漫着紫丁花的香味，长长的枝条垂落在湖岸边。哦，春天的气息如此沁人心脾。就在他的面前，他看到三只美丽的白天鹅从灌木丛中向他游来。他们轻轻地在水中滑行，羽毛沙沙作响。小鸭认出了这些庄严的鸟儿，他被一种奇怪的忧郁所笼罩。

　　"I will fly to them, the royal birds, and they will hack me to pieces because I who am so ugly venture to approach them. But it won't matter." So he flew into the water and swam towards the stately swans. They saw him and darted toward him with ruffled feathers."Kill me ,oh, kill me." said the poor creature. And bowing his head towards the water, he awaited his death. But what did he see? Reflected in the water, he saw below him his own images, but he was no longer an ugly clumsy dark gray bird.He was himself, a swan.

　　“我要向他们飞去，高贵的鸟儿，他们将把我劈成碎片，因为我这么丑，不敢接近他们。但这不要紧。”于是他飞入水中，向庄严的天鹅游去。他们看到他，竖起羽毛，飞快地朝他游来。“杀了我，哦，杀了我。”可怜的家伙说道。他把头埋向水面，等待着死亡。但是他看见了什么?他看到了水中倒映着的自己的模样，但是他不再是一只丑陋的、笨拙的灰色的鸟儿。他自己是一只——天鹅。

　　 英语童话故事：邪恶的东方女巫之死

　　She was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, the jar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened; and dog Toto put his cold little nose into her face and whined sadly. Dorothy sat up and noticed that the house was not moving; nor was it dark, for the bright sunshine came in at the window, flooding the little room. She sprang from her bed and with Toto at her heels ran and opened the door.

　　多萝茜被一阵突如比来的剧烈的震动惊醒，如果她没有躺在柔软的床上，她可能会受伤的。震动使她屏住呼吸，寻思着发生的事;小狗托托把它冰冷的小鼻子放到她的脸上，凄惨地哀叫着。多萝茜坐起来，发现房子不动了，天也不黑了，明亮的阳光从窗口照进来，照满了小屋。她从床上一跃而起，跑过去开门，托托跟在她脚边。

　　The little girl gave a cry of amazement and looked about her, her eyes growing bigger and bigger at the wonderful sights she saw.

　　女孩惊讶地叫了起来，她环顾四周，看到一幕幕奇特的景象，眼睛睁得越来越大。

　　The cyclone had set the house down very gently in the midst of a country of great beauty. There were lovely patches of greensward all about, with stately trees bearing rich fruits. Banks of attractive flowers were on every hand, and birds with rare and brilliant plumage sang and fluttered in the trees and bushes. A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies.

　　旋风极为轻盈地把房子降落在一个风景秀丽的国家的中央。到处是一块一块的绿草地，庄严的树木结着丰饶甜美的果实。斜坡上遍布若迷人的鲜花，鸟儿们披着军见的亮丽的羽毛.在树木和灌木丛间歌唱飞舞。不远处是一条小溪，沿着绿色的堤岸奔流不息，熠熠发光，发出潺潺的流水声，这对于一个在干旱的灰色草原上住了很久的小女孩来说实在太令人愉快了。

　　While she stood looking eagerly at the strange and beautiful sights, she noticed coming toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact,they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.

　　当她站在那里，急切地注视着这些奇特美丽的景观时，她注意到一群人向她走来，这是她见过的最奇异的人。他们没有她看惯了的成人那么高大，但他们也并不是非常矮小。事实上，他们似乎和多萝茜一样高，按照年龄来讲，多萝茜算是一个长得很高的孩子。从外貌来看，这群人比她大许多。

　　Three were men and one a woman, and all were oddly dressed. They wore round hats that rose to a small point a foot above their heads, with little bells around the brims that tinkled sweetly as they moved. The hats of the men were blue; the little woman's hat was white, and she wore a white gown that hung in pleats from her shoulders. Over it were sprinkled little stars that glistened in the sun like diamonds. The men were dressed in blue,of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots. The men, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two of them had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly.

　　他们当中有三名男子和一名妇女，全都穿着古怪。他们戴着圆帽子，帽子离头有一英尺高，中间耸起一个小小的尖顶，帽檐四周拄着小铃档，他们一动，铃档就发出悦耳的叮铃声。男人们的帽子是蓝色的，女人的帽子一呈白色，她穿着一件带褶的白色袍子，从肩膀上垂下来，上面闪耀着小星星，在阳光下像钻石般耀眼。男人们身着蓝色衣裳，色调和帽了一致，脚穿擦得亮闪闪的靴子。多萝茜想，他们和亨利叔叔年纪差不多，因为其中两个长着胡须。但妇人无疑就大多了，她满脸皱纹，头发几乎全白，走起路来相当僵硬。

　　When these people drew near the house where Dorothy was standing in the doorway,

　　they paused and whispered among themselves, as if afraid to come farther. But the little old

　　woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice:

　　当这些人走近屋子时，多萝茜正站在门口，他们停下来互相低语，好像不敢再向前迈进。不过瘦小的老妇人走到多萝茜面前，深深地鞠了一躬，用甜美的声音说：

　　"You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of Munchkins. We are so grateful to you for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East, and for setting our people free from bondage."

　　“欢迎你，最高贵的魔法师，来到芒奇金人的国度。我们很感激你杀死了邪恶的东方女巫，感谢你把我们的人民从奴役中解放出来。”

　　Dorothy listened to this speech with wonder. What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East?Dorothy was an innocent, harmless little girl, who had been carried by a cyclone many miles from home; and she had never killed anything in all her life.

　　多萝茜惊讶地听着这番话。老妇人叫她女巫，还说她杀死了东方坏女巫，这可能意味着什么呢?多萝茜是个无辜的、不会造成任何伤害的小女孩，从许多英里之外的地方被龙卷风带到这里，而且她从来没有杀害过任何事物。

　　But the little woman evidently expected her to answer; so Dorothy said, with hesitation,"You are very kind, but there must be some mistake. I have not killed anything."

　　但妇人显然期待着她回答，于是多萝茜犹豫地说:“你太好了，但一定是有些错误，我没有杀过任何东西。”

　　"Your house did, anyway," replied the little old woman, with a laugh, "and that is the same thing. See!" she continued, pointing to the corner of the house. "Them are her two feet, still sticking out from under a block of wood."

　　“不管怎样，你的房子杀死了东方女巫”，老妇人笑着答道，“这是一回事。你瞧!”她继续说着，指着屋子的一角。“她的两只脚还伸在木板外呢。”

　　Dorothy looked, and gave a little cry of fright.There, indeed, just under the corner of the great beam the house rested on, two feet were sticking out, shod in silver ,shoes with pointed toes.

　　多萝茜看了看，惊叫了一声。确实，就在屋了一坐落的巨大横梁的角上，两只脚伸了出来，穿着银色尖头的鞋子。

二、有没有中英结合的英语小故事啊？

掩耳盗铃Plugging One's Ears While Stealing a Bell
春秋时侯，晋国贵族智伯灭掉了范氏。有人趁机跑到范氏家里想偷点东西，看见院子里吊着一口大钟。钟是用上等青铜铸成的，造型和图案都很精美。小偷心里高兴极了，想把这口精美的大钟背回自已家去。可是钟又大又重，怎么也挪不动。他想来想去，只有一个办法，那就是把钟敲碎，然后再分别搬回家。

小偷找来一把大大锤，拼命朝钟砸去，咣的一声巨响，把他吓了一大跳。小偷着慌，心想这下糟了，这种声不就等于是告诉人们我正在这里偷钟吗？他心里一急，身子一下子扑到了钟上，张开双臂想捂住钟声，可钟声又怎么捂得住呢！钟声依然悠悠地传向远方。

他越听越害怕，不同自由地抽回双手，使劲捂住自已的耳朵。“咦，钟声变小了，听不见了！”小偷高兴起来，“妙极了！把耳朵捂住不住就听不进钟声了吗！”他立刻找来两个布团，把耳朵塞住，心想，这下谁也听不见钟声了。于是就放手砸起钟来，一下一下，钟声响亮地传到很远的地方。人们听到钟声蜂拥而至把小偷捉住了。

故事出自《吕氏春秋·自知》“掩耳盗钟”被说成“掩耳盗铃”，比喻愚蠢自欺的掩饰行为。

Plugging One's Ears While Stealing a Bell

During the Spring and Autumn period,Zhi Bo of the State of Jin destroyed Fan's family.Taking advantage of this occasion,a man went to Fan's house and tried to steal something.As soon as the man entered the gate,he saw that there hung a big bell in the courtyard.The bell was cast in high-quality bronza,and was beautiful in design and shape.The theif was very glad,and decided to carry this beautiful bell back home.But no matter how hard he tried,he could not move the bell,because the bell was both big and heavy.He thought and thought again,and believed there was only one way to solve the problem.He had to break the bell to pieces before he was able to carry them back to his home separately.

The thief found a big iron hammer,with which he struck the bell with all his might.The striking produced an enormous crashing sound,which might.The striking produced an enormous crashing sound,which made the thief terribly frightened.The thief got flurried,thinking that it was too bad to have produced the crashiing sound which would himself on the bell,trying to muffle the crashing sound with his arms.But how could the crashing sound of the bell be muffled?The crashing sound still kept drifting melodiously to distant places.The more he listened to the sound,the more frightened hw became.He xubconsciously shrank back,and covered his ears hard with his hands."Hey,the sound becomes fainter,inaudible,"the thief became cheerful at once," wonderful!The sound of the bell can not be heard when the ears are covered."He immediately got some odd bits of cloth,made two rolls with them,and had his ears plugged with the two cloth rolls.He thought that in this way nobody could hear the sound of the bell.Feeling relieved,he began striking the bell,one blow after another.The resounding sound of the bell was heard at distant places,and finally people caught the thief by gracing the sound.

This story comes from"Knowing Yourself" in The Annals by Buwei,written just before the Qin Dynasty（221-207 B.C.）was founded.Allegedly,when Li Yuan,Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty（618-907），read this story,he felt it simply ridiculous and said,"This is what is called plugging one's ears while stealing a bell."

Later,people have used the set phrase "plugging one's ears while stealing a bell" to refer to the ignorance and foolishness of the person who deceives himself as well as others.
资料来源：

三、简短的英语小故事(中英双译

1.父亲和他的儿子 THE FATHER AND HIS SONS
Father had a family of sons who were perpetually quarrelling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They each tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it.
He next unclosed the faggot, and took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into their hands, on which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words： “My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this faggot, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies； but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks.”
一位父亲有几个孩子，这些孩子时常发生口角。他丝毫没有办法来劝阻他们，只好让他们看看不合群所带来害处的例子。为了达到这个目的，有一天他叫他们替他拿一捆细柴来。当他们把柴带来时，他便先后地将那捆柴放在每一个孩子的手中，吩咐他们弄断这捆柴。他们一个个尽力去试，总是不能成功。
然后他解开那捆柴，一根根地放在他们手里，如此一来，他们便毫不费力地折断了。于是他就告诉他们说：“孩子们！如果你们大家团结一致，互相帮助，你们就像这捆柴一样，不能被你们的敌人折断；但如果你们自行分裂，你们就将和这些散柴一般，不堪一折了。”

2.狮子和老鼠 THE LION AND THE MOUSE
Lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face. Rising up in anger, he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying： “If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.” The Lion laughed and let him go.
It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunters, who bound him by strong ropes to the ground. The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came up, and gnawed the rope with his teeth, and setting him free, exclaimed: “You ridiculed the idea of my ever being able to help you, not expecting to receive from me any repayment of your favor； but now you know that it is possible for even a Mouse to confer benefits on a Lion.”
一只老鼠从一只狮子面前跑过去，将它从梦中吵醒。狮子生气地跳起来，捉住老鼠，要弄死它。老鼠哀求说：“只要你肯饶恕我这条小生命，我将来一定会报答你的大恩。”狮子便笑着放了它。
后来狮子被几个猎人捉住，用粗绳捆绑倒在地上。老鼠听出是狮子的吼声，走来用牙齿咬断绳索，释放了他，并大声说：“你当时嘲笑我想帮你的忙，而且也不指望我有什么机会报答。但是你现在知道了，就算是小老鼠，也能向狮子效劳的。”

3.狮子和农夫 The lion and the farmer
An Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to the child, "Wow! It’s getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and run. Let’s run quickly!"
“Relax. We’re not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such a panic?” asked the child. “There’s something you don’t know. I’m generally fearless. I’m not afraid of tigers or lions. I’m only afraid of the night. When the night comes, I’m completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I’m really frightened of it. I can’t stand it," answered the farmer.
It so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation. “What’s this thing called ‘the night’? How could it be more fearful than I am? I must find out about it,” the lion mused as it moved closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this “night” that was even more frightening than itself.
Then darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn’t see nearby objects clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times, saying, “I’ve been looking for you all day. Where have you been? How dare you come back so late?”
“This is the end of me,” the lion thought with regret. “How could I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called ‘the night’ that beat me just now? It’s really horrifying. What should I do now?” As these thoughts flashed through the lion’s mind, the farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him. The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house.
It was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of “the night” when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was “the night.”
Early the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his “donkey” to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer. It then approached the captive lion and asked, “What are you doing? Why are you walking behind this man?”
“Shh! Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don’t you know that this being walking in front is something called ‘the night?’ He’s very terrible. Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving the entire night. I have no idea where he’s taking me now. Run along or your life will be in danger!”
After hearing this story, the other lion said, “You’re incredible. You idiot! You’re a lion, the king of animals! You’ve been deceived! Just roar at him now and you’ll know who is more terrifying.” The lion accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look. Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow! He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again.
有一个印度的农夫跟他的小孩子出去耕田，耕完了地以后，天快要黑了，他就跟小孩说：“哇！天快黑了！不行、不行了！快收东西，快点走，我们赶快走吧！”
小孩说：“哎呀！你别紧张嘛！回家的路不远，而且我们也知道路，你干什么这么紧张呢？”农夫说：“不行啊！你不知道啊！我什么都不怕，我不怕老虎、不怕狮子，我最怕那个‘晚上’！只要‘晚上’一来，我就软趴趴。那个‘晚上’最恐怖了，我好怕、好怕，我受不了！”
刚好有一只狮子躲在旁边听到了，它就想：“这个‘晚上’是什么东西？它怎么可能比我还恐怖呢？我倒要试试看！”它就靠近农夫，想查看‘晚上’是什么种类的东西，竟然比狮子还要恐怖。
那个时候天已经黑了，那个农夫有老花眼，看不清楚，只看到一个动物跑过来靠近他，认为是他那头刚走掉的驴子，就打它几下，说：“找你整天找不到，去哪里了？现在才回来！”
这只狮子心想：“完了！我怎么那么笨，跑来靠近‘这个’，刚刚打我就是叫‘晚上’的东西吧！好恐怖啊！现在怎么办呢？”它在想的时候，农夫又打了它好几下，催它赶快回家去，这只狮子怕死了，就跟着农夫走回去。
回家时天更黑了，因为农夫认为是他的驴子，就把狮子绑在屋外的角落边，然后进去睡觉。那只狮子在那边又饿又冷整个晚上，又害怕，不晓得明天早上那个“晚上”会再对待它怎么样？它认为农夫就是所谓的“晚上”。
隔天一大早，天还不怎么亮的时候，农夫已经起来了，出门带那头“驴子”要去耕田。走到半路时，刚好有另外一只狮子经过，它看到这只狮子乖乖地跟着农夫走在后面，就感觉到好笑，它靠近这只狮子，问：“你做什么啦？为什么跟着那个人的后面走呢？”
被绑的狮子说：“嘘！你不要那么吵，赶快离开！你不知道前面走的那个，就是叫‘晚上’的东西，他很恐怖啊，昨天我被他打，然后被绑了整个晚上又饿又冷，现在不晓得要带我到哪里去。你赶快跑，不然的话你生命难保啊！”
另外那只狮子听说这样，就说：“你真好笑，你笨蛋！你是狮子、是动物之王啊！你被骗了！你现在吼他一声，就知道谁才恐怖。”果然，这只狮子听它的话大吼一声以后，那个农夫就靠过来看，现在天亮了，一看是只狮子，哇！跑得要命。然后这只狮子就自由了。

4.熟能生巧小故事 Skill comes from practice
During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a skilled archer. One day he drew a big crowd while he was practicing on the drill ground. He shot so accurately that the on-lookers cheered with excitement. He became very proud of his skill. But among the crowd an old oil peddler only nodded his head indifferently. This hurt his Pride.
“Can you do this?” he asked the old oil peddler.
“No, I can’t.”
“What do you think of my skill?”
“Just OK, but nothing special. You’ve gained your accuracy from persistent practice. That’s all.”
“What can you do, then?” the old man said nothing. He put a gourd bottle on the ground and covered its mouth with a copper coin. He then scooped out a ladle of oil from his big jar, held it high and began to fill the bottle.
Now, a thread of oil came down from the ladle into the bottle just through the hole of the coin. Everybody looking on watched with amazement. But the old man said, “This is nothing special, I can do this because I have practiced it a lot.” And with these words, he left.
Later, people use this phrase to mean “Practice makes perfect”.
北宋时期，有个技艺高超的射手。有一天，他在训练场上练习射箭，引来了一大群人观看，大家都称赞他的技艺，他感到非常骄傲。但他发现人群中有个卖油翁只是淡淡的点点头，这使得他很不高兴。
他就问那老头：“你会射箭吗？”
“不会。”
“你认为我的技术如何？”
“一般。没什么特别的，你只能对付固定的东西，仅此而已。”
“你会干什么？”
这个老头没有回答。他把一个葫芦放在地上，接着把一枚铜钱放在瓶口。然后从他的大油壶里舀起一勺油。
从高处往放在地上的葫芦里倒。只见那油就像线一样从铜钱中间的小洞里滴下去，一滴都没有漏出来。围观者都惊呆了。而这个卖油翁却说：“其实没什么大不了的，只不过是天天练的结果。”说完，他就离开了。
后来，人们用“熟能生巧”这个成语来表示熟练了就能作得好。