【www.jianqiaoenglish.com--英语故事】
Fox and cock
One morning a fox sees a cock. He thinks," This is my breakfast.""He comes up to the cock and says, "I know you can sing very well. Can you sing for me?"" The cock is glad. He closes his eyes and begins to sing. The fox sees that and catches him in his mouth and carries him away. The people in the field see the fox. They cry," Look, look! The fox is carrying the cock away."" The cock says to the fox," Mr. Fox, do you understand? The people say you are carrying their cock away .Tell them it is yours. Not theirs."" The fox opens his mouth and says," The cock is mine, not yours." "Just then the cock runs away from the fox and flies into the tree.
Here Comes a Wolf!
Once a naughty boy was looking after his sheep in the mountain. He wanted to make a joke because he felt lonely. He cried loudly, "Here comes a wolf! Help!" On hearing it, the villagers all ran up to save him, but he laughed and felt funny. The same thing happened again the next day, and the villagers got angry with him. And then, a wolf did come one day. The boy shouted again and again, but nobody came up. The boy was killed at last. Remember: Never tell a lie!
Making His Mark
Once upon a time a man from the State of Chu was crossing a river by boat. But carelessly his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat. He said,"This is where my sword fell off." When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat. Of course he couldn"t find it. He didn"t know the boat had moved but the sword had no. Two Monks
Once there were two monks in Sichuan. One was poor, and the other was rich. One day the poor monk asked the rich on, "I want to go to Nanhai. What do you think of it ?" The rich one asked, "What do you depend on to go there?" The poor one answered, " A bottle and a basin." The rich one laughed and said,"I have been thinking about going there by boat for many years, but I have failed. How can you go there?" The next year, the poor monk returned from Nanhai. The rich one looked ashamed.
The Crow and the Fox
One day a crow found a piece of meat. She picked it up and flew to a tall tree. She was just going to eat the meat when a fox saw her. He came and stood under the tree and said, "How beautiful you are!" The crow was glad to hear that. Then the fox said, "I can see your beautiful face, but I can"t hear your beautiful voice. Why don"t you sing a song?" The crow began to sing. But when she opened her mouth, she dropped the meat, and the fox picked it up at once.
Two Friends
Two friends were walking in the forest. One is tall, and the other is short. The tall man said to the other, "We are good friends. If any beast comes, I\"ll help you." The short man answered,"Of course, we are good friends." At this time a bear came to them. The tall man quickly climbed up a tree, but the short one couldn\"t. He said,"Help me, I can\"t climb up." But the tall man said, "No, the tree is not strong." The short man had to throw himself to the ground and held his breath. The bear smelt him and went away. The tall man came down and asked,"What did the bear say to you?" "He runs awayfrom you when you are in great need. He is not your friend," he answered. Remember: A friend in need is a friend indeed.
An Ant and a Bird
Once an ant was drinking by a small river and fell in. She tried her best to teach the bank, but she could\"t move at all. At this time, a bird threw a piece of wood to her. She was saved. When the ant was drying herself in the grass, a man came, carrying a gun in his hand. Just as the man was going to kill the bird, the ant bit him on one of his feet. The bird flew away at once. Remember: We should help everyone, and we ourselves often need help.THE RED SHOES
There was once a little girl who was very pretty and delicate, but in summer she was forced to run about with bare feet, she was so poor, and in winterwear very large wooden shoes, which made her little insteps quite red, andthat looked so dangerous! In the middle of the village lived old Dame Shoemaker; she sat and sewedtogether, as well as she could, a little pair of shoes out of old red stripsof cloth; they were very clumsy, but it was a kind thought. They were meantfor the little girl. The little girl was called Karen.
On the very day her mother was buried, Karen received the red shoes, and worethem for the first time. They were certainly not intended for mourning, butshe had no others, and with stockingless feet she followed the poor strawcoffin in them.
Suddenly a large old carriage drove up, and a large old lady sat in it: shelooked at the little girl, felt compassion for her, and then said to theclergyman:
"Here, give me the little girl. I will adopt her!"And Karen believed all this happened on account of the red shoes, but the oldlady thought they were horrible, and they were burnt. But Karen herself wascleanly and nicely dressed; she must learn to read and sew; and people saidshe was a nice little thing, but the looking-glass said: "Thou art more thannice, thou art beautiful!"Now the queen once travelled through the land, and she had her little daughterwith her. And this little daughter was a princess, and people streamed to thecastle, and Karen was there also, and the little princess stood in her finewhite dress, in a window, and let herself be stared at; she had neither atrain nor a golden crown, but splendid red morocco shoes. They were certainlyfar handsomer than those Dame Shoemaker had made for little Karen. Nothing inthe world can be compared with red shoes.
Now Karen was old enough to be confirmed; she had new clothes and was to havenew shoes also. The rich shoemaker in the city took the measure of her littlefoot. This took place at his house, in his room; where stood largeglass-cases, filled with elegant shoes and brilliant boots. All this lookedcharming, but the old lady could not see well, and so had no pleasure in them.
In the midst of the shoes stood a pair of red ones, just like those theprincess had worn. How beautiful they were! The shoemaker said also they hadbeen made for the child of a count, but had not fitted.
"That must be patent leather!" said the old lady. "They shine so!""Yes, they shine!" said Karen, and they fitted, and were bought, but the oldlady knew nothing about their being red, else she would never have allowedKaren to have gone in red shoes to be confirmed. Yet such was the case.
Everybody looked at her feet; and when she stepped through the chancel door onthe church pavement, it seemed to her as if the old figures on the tombs,those portraits of old preachers and preachers" wives, with stiff ruffs, andlong black dresses, fixed their eyes on her red shoes. And she thought only ofthem as the clergyman laid his hand upon her head, and spoke of the holybaptism, of the covenant with God, and how she should be now a maturedChristian; and the organ pealed so solemnly; the sweet children"s voices sang,and the old music-directors sang, but Karen only thought of her red shoes.
In the afternoon, the old lady heard from everyone that the shoes had beenred, and she said that it was very wrong of Karen, that it was not at allbecoming, and that in future Karen should only go in black shoes to church,even when she should be older.
The next Sunday there was the sacrament, and Karen looked at the black shoes,looked at the red ones--looked at them again, and put on the red shoes.
The sun shone gloriously; Karen and the old lady walked along the path throughthe corn; it was rather dusty there.
At the church door stood an old soldier with a crutch, and with a wonderfullylong beard, which was more red than white, and he bowed to the ground, andasked the old lady whether he might dust her shoes. And Karen stretched outher little foot.
"See, what beautiful dancing shoes!" said the soldier. "Sit firm when youdance"; and he put his hand out towards the soles.
And the old lady gave the old soldier alms, and went into the church withKaren.
And all the people in the church looked at Karen"s red shoes, and all thepictures, and as Karen knelt before the altar, and raised the cup to herlips, she only thought of the red shoes, and they seemed to swim in it; andshe forgot to sing her psalm, and she forgot to pray, "Our Father in Heaven!"Now all the people went out of church, and the old lady got into her carriage.
Karen raised her foot to get in after her, when the old soldier said,"Look, what beautiful dancing shoes!"And Karen could not help dancing a step or two, and when she began her feetcontinued to dance; it was just as though the shoes had power over them. Shedanced round the church corner, she could not leave off; the coachman wasobliged to run after and catch hold of her, and he lifted her in the carriage,but her feet continued to dance so that she trod on the old lady dreadfully.
