The Fables of Aesop 伊索寓言

A Jay venturing into a yard where Peacocks used to walk,found there a number of feathers which had fallen from the Peacocks when they were moulting. He tied them all to his tail and strutted down towards the Peacocks. When he came near them they soon discovered the trick, and striding up to him pecked at him and plucked away his borrowed plumes. So the Jay could do no better than go back to the other Jays, who had watched his behaviour from a distance; but they were equally annoyed with him,and told him:

“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”

松鸡和孔雀

一只松鸡冒险闯进孔雀经常散步的院子里，发现地上有许多孔雀换毛时掉落的羽毛。他把这些羽毛全部绑在自己尾巴上，大摇大摆地朝孔雀们走去。当他走近时，孔雀们很快发现了他的小把戏，纷纷跑过来啄他，撕掉他的伪装。松鸡没办法，只能回到鸡群中，但其他松鸡早就远远地看到了他的行为，所以他们同样表示厌恶，告诉他说—

“不是有了好羽毛就能变成好鸟。”

Key points

annoy 生气

behaviour 行为

cheat 欺骗手段

discover 发现

jay 松鸡

moult 脱毛；换羽

peacock 雄孔雀

peck 啄

pluck 摘；拔

plume 羽毛

stride 大步走

strut 趾高气扬地走

venture 冒险

yard 院子