The Foolish Lion

向红

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，住着一头狮子。它慢慢地变老，再也跑不快了。时间一天天过去，捕猎对于它来说越来越困难。

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，它想穿過森林去寻找食物的时候，刚好经过一个山洞。它向山洞里面看了看并嗅了嗅，自言自语道：“这里肯定有动物居住。”它悄悄摸进洞里却发现里面是空的。它想：“我要藏在里面，等它回来。”

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？”

这个山洞是一只豺狗的家。每天，豺狗清早出门寻找猎物，直到晚上才会回到家里休息。这天晚上，豺狗用完餐准备回家。但是当它离家越近，就越觉得有什么事情不对劲，周围的一切都显得格外安静。豺狗自言自语道：“肯定有什么事情不对，不然为什么昆虫鸟儿都这么安静呢？”

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.

它谨慎地慢慢向自己的山洞靠近，环顾四周，看看有没有危险的迹象。当它离洞口越来越近的时候，直觉提醒它，这里会有危险。豺狗想：“我必须确定这里安全才好。”突然，它想到一个主意。

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

聪明的豺狗对着山洞喊道：“你好呀，我亲爱的山洞，你今天怎么了？为什么这么安静呢？”

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.

豺狗的声音在深深的山洞里面回响着。狮子再也忍受不了饥饿的折磨了，它心里暗自回应道：“因为今天我在这儿，所以如此安静。我觉得我应该在豺狗意识到危险之前做点什么才好。”

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”.

这时，豺狗继续朝着山洞喊道：“山洞，你忘记我们的约定了吗？你应该在我每天回来的时候跟我问好的。”狮子听到这句话心想，这可是一个好机会。于是，狮子尝试压低声音，在洞里说道：“欢迎回家，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.

叽叽喳喳的鸟儿们听到狮子的声音后都仓皇飞走了。至于豺狗，它吓了一跳。在饥饿的狮子出来把自己扑倒吃掉以前，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.

狮子等了很久也不见豺狗走进山洞。豺狗没进来，狮子意识到自己被耍了。它很后悔，是自己的愚蠢导致错失了猎物。

Notes

1. hunt [] v. 打猎;搜寻

2. creep [] v. 爬行;蔓延;慢慢地移动

3. jackal [] n. [脊椎] 豺;豺狗

4. insect [] n. 昆虫

5. instinct [] n. 本能，直觉;天性

6. echo [] v. 随声附和;发出回声

7. roar [] n. 咆哮;吼;轰鸣

8. pounce [] v. 突袭，猛扑

9. prey [] n. 捕食;牺牲者;被捕食的动物