Bring a Wolf Home

◎供稿：王梓菲

“引狼入室”比喻把坏人或敌人招引进来，从而给自己带来无法想象的麻烦。

Once there was a shepherd1)herdedsheep in mountains as usual. When he saw a wolf following his sheep far behind, he began to stay alert. However, after a few months, the wolf didn’t hurt any sheep at all. Instead, other wild animals didn’t dare to walk close to the2)flockbecause of the wolf. Seeing this, the shepherd thought, “It seems that the wolf is not as cruel and tricky as people said. If I can get the wolf to watch my sheep, other wild animals will not hurt my sheep anymore.” Then he took that wolf into the3)sheepfold.

One day, the shepherd had something to deal with in the town. Before leaving home, he told the wolf to take good care of the sheep. The wolf agreed happily. But soon after he left the sheepfold, the wolf4)howledand called out many wolves here. All the sheep were eaten by the wolves. When the shepherd came back, he found that all his sheep were gone. He was so regret. But he could do nothing to make up.

1) herd [hɜːd] v. 放牧

2) flock [flɒk] n. 羊群

3) sheepfold [ˈʃiːpfəʊld] n. 羊圈

4) howl [haʊl] v. 嚎叫

词组加油站

stay alert 保持警惕

make up 弥补

从前，有个牧羊人像往常一样在山谷里放羊。他远远地看见一只狼总是跟在羊群后面，于是提高警惕。但是，一连几个月过去了，那只狼并没有伤害羊群，反而因为有狼的存在，其他野兽都不敢靠近羊群了。看到这种情况，牧羊人心想：看来狼并不像别人说的那么狠毒和诡计多端，如果能让狼来帮我看管我的羊，其他野兽就不会再伤害它们了。然后，牧羊人就把这只狼带进了羊圈。 有一天，牧羊人要进城办事。离开家之前，他吩咐狼照顾家里的羊，狼开心地答应了。没想到他刚刚离开羊圈，狼就嗥叫着并呼唤来了狼群，把牧羊人的羊全吃掉了。牧羊人回到家后，看到自己的羊全都不见了，悔恨得捶胸顿足，却也于事无补了。

Questions:

1. Why did the shepherd begin to stay alert when he saw a wolf following his sheep far behind at first?

2. What happened at last in the story?

Know More

“引狼入室”出自元杂剧《罗李郎》。元杂剧是元代的代表性戏剧种类，其前身为宋代北方杂剧，它以北方民间流行的俚俗表演形式为基础，吸收了金代诸宫调、院本的表演特点和舞台经验，经元初关汉卿等戏剧名家完善定型，最终形成了独特的戏剧表演形式。元杂剧的脚色分为旦、末、净、杂四大行当。