鹦鹉和猫

张峰

A man once bought a brilliantly-coloured par- rot. Instead of locking it up in a cage or chaining it to a perch， he allowed it to fly free all over the house. Theparrotwas delighted atthisand flapped from room to room， shrieking and screaming withhappi- ness. At lasthe settled on the edge of a rich curtain.

“Whoonearthareyou？ ”saidacrossvoice from below.“Stop that terrible noise at once. ”

The parrotsawacatstaring upat himfrom the carpet.

“I ma parrot.I ve justarrivedandI mto make as much noise as I can， ”he said.

“Well， I ve lived here all my life， ”replied the cat.“I was born in this very house and I learned from my mother that it is best to keep quiet here. ”

“Keep quiet then，”said the parrot cheerfully. “Idon tknowwhatyoudoaroundhere，butI know my job. My master bought me for my voice           and I m going to make sure he hears it. ”

從前，有人买了一只毛色鲜艳的鹦鹉。他没有把鹦鹉关在笼子里，也没有用链条把他拴在栖木上，而是让他在家里自由自在地飞来飞去。鹦鹉对此非常高兴，扑动翅膀，从一间屋子飞到另一间屋子，愉快地尖声叫着，最后停在华丽的帷幔的边上。

“你到底是谁？”从下面传来怒气冲冲的说话声，“马上住嘴，别发出那难听的声音。”

鹦鹉看见地毯上有一只猫抬头看着他。

“我是鹦鹉。我刚到，我要使劲地吵吵。”他说。

“嗯，我在这已经住了一辈子了。”猫说，“我生在这个屋子里，并且妈妈告诉我在这里最好保持安静。”

“那你就一声不响吧，”鹦鹉欢快地说，“我不知道你在这儿干什么，可我知道我的活儿。主人为了我的声音才买我，我一定得让他听到。”