狮子和老鼠

⊙ From Aesop’s Fables

翻译：蓝蓝

狮子和老鼠

⊙ From Aesop’s Fables

翻译：蓝蓝

The Lion and the Mouse

勿以善小而不为。哪怕只是举手之劳，善意从来不会白费……

适合泛读

建议时间：2分钟

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws[爪]. A timid[胆小的]little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright[受惊]and haste[匆忙]to get away, ran across the Lion’s nose. Roused from his nap[小睡], the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

“Spare[饶恕]me!” begged the poor Mouse. “Please let me go and some day I will surely repay[报答]you.”

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking[追踪]his prey[猎物]in the forest, the Lion was caught in the hunter’s net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring[吼声]. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed[咬]it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

“You laughed when I said I would repay you,” said the Mouse. “Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion.”

A kindness is never wasted.

见招拆招

词组：come upon

Come upon在这里的意思是“碰上，偶然遇到”，它在其他语境中还可以表示“冲向，袭击，降落在，影响”，所以我们在理解词组时需要结合上下文，如：

● While walking down the road, I came upon a strange old house.（我沿着大路一直走，突然遇到一栋古怪的老房子。）

● Fear came upon her as she waited. （她在等待时感到一阵恐惧。）

一头狮子用爪子垫着他那尊贵的狮头，在森林里呼呼大睡。一只胆怯的小老鼠无意中撞见狮子，她吓了一大跳，赶紧逃跑，结果从狮子的鼻子翻了过去。从睡梦中惊醒的狮子生气了，他用巨大的爪子压住这个小东西，想一把弄死她。

“放过我吧！”可怜的老鼠乞求道。“请让我走吧，将来我一定会报答您。”

狮子觉得这也太可笑了：一只老鼠怎么可能帮上他的忙。不过他也没计较，最后还是把老鼠放走了。

几天后，狮子在森林里面追踪猎物，却一下子被猎人布下的罗网困住了。无力挣脱圈套的狮子愤怒地咆哮起来，吼声响彻森林。老鼠认出了狮子的声音，马上跑来，发现狮子还在网中挣扎。她跑到绑住狮子的其中一根粗绳跟前不停地咬，直到将绳子咬开，狮子很快便挣脱出来了。

“我说过会报答你，你那时嗤之以鼻，”老鼠说。“现在你瞧，哪怕是一只小老鼠，也可以给一头大狮子帮上忙呢。”

善良从来不会白费。