LESSON 48

THE FOX AND THE DUCKS

狐狸和鸭子

1. On a summer day, a man sitting on the bank of a river, in the shade of some bushes, watched a flock of ducks on the stream.

2. Soon a branch with leaves came drifting among them, and they all took wing. After circling in the air for a little time, they settled down again on their feeding ground.

1. Soon another branch came drifting down among them, and again they took flight from the river; but when they found the branch had drifted by and done them no harm, they flew down to the water as before.

2. After four or five branches had drifted by in this way, the ducks gave little heed to them. At length, they hardly tried to fly out of their way, even when the branches nearly touched them.

3. The man who had been watching all this, now began to wonder who had set these branches adrift. He looked up the stream, and spied a fox slyly watching the ducks. "What will he do next?" thought the man.

4. When the fox saw that the ducks were no longer afraid of the branches, he took a much larger branch than any he had yet used, and stretched himself upon it so as to be almost hidden. Then he set it afloat as he had the others.

5. Right among the flock drifted the sly old fox, and, making quick snaps to right and left, he seized two fine young ducks, and floated off with them.

6. The rest of the flock flew away in fright, and did not come back for a long time.

7. The fox must have had a fine dinner to pay him for his cunning, patient work.

【中文阅读】

1．夏日的一天，有个人坐在河边，在灌木丛的阴凉下，望着小溪中的一群鸭子。

2．不久，一个树枝带着几片叶子漂到了它们中间。鸭子们都张开翅膀飞起来，在空中盘旋一小会儿后，又落到了它们的觅食地。

3．很快，另一个树枝也漂到了它们中间。鸭子再次从河里飞起来。当它们发现树枝飘走了，并没有对它们造成伤害后，它们又像从前那样落到了水里。

4．当四五个树枝都流经这里后，鸭子们稍稍留意了一下它们。最后，甚至在树枝快要碰到它们时，就不再试图飞起来了。

5．有个人看到了全过程。他开始纳闷是谁把这些树枝放在水里让它们漂过去。他抬头看了看河流，发现一只狐狸正阴险地注视着鸭子们。“它下一步怎样做呢？”这个人想。

6．当这只狐狸看到鸭子们不再害怕树枝后，它搬来一个比以前用过的更大的树枝，然后直挺挺地趴在上面藏起来。它让这个树枝漂到水里，就像它以前做过的一样。

7．狡猾的老狐狸准确无误地漂到了鸭群中，突然向左右快速猛咬。它捉住了两只漂亮的小鸭子，然后离开了水面。

8．其余的鸭子惊吓地飞离水面，吓得很久也没再回来。

9．那只狐狸肯定享用了一顿美妙的晚餐，来犒劳自己狡猾而耐心的劳动。