THE RAT WITH THE BELL
带铃铛的老鼠
1.A large house was so full of rats that not a thing could be kept from their teeth.
2.Shelves were hung from the roof by wires，but the rats would get at the bread and cheese and pies that were put on them.
3.They would even gnaw their way through floors and doors and walls，to get what they wanted；and they were so sly and quick that the cat could not get them.
4.So great was the plague of these rats，that it was thought the only way to get rid of them would be to tear down the house.
5.By a rare chance，two boys caught a young rat in a trap.
6.With no thought of doing any good，but for mere sport，they put a bell on its neck and let it go.
7.The rat ran to join its friends；but the strange sound of thebell made them afraid，and they ran off，some this way，and some that，as you see in the picture.
8.Our young rat at once knew the cause of their flight，and，full of the joke，it ran after them，and rang the bell as loud as it could.
9.And thus it drove them from hole to hole，and from roomto room，till at last they all ran out of the house.
10.The young rat now had the music and the house all to itself.For a while it was real sport to run around，and ring the bell，and eat of all the good things it could find.But at last it got tired of living alone.
11.The bell，which had pleased it so much，was now its great trouble；for，in spite of all its efforts，it could not get near a single rat.
12.Our rat then tried to get the bell off.It pulled at the bell with its fore feet，till it wore the skin off its neck.But all in vain.The rat was tired and sick.
13.It cared no more for rich food and sport；and，one day，as sadly and slowly it crept from room to room，it came in the way of puss，who cleared the house of its last rat and freed the rat of its grief and life in a moment.
【中文阅读】
1.一座大房子里，全都是老鼠，没有任何东西逃得过它们的牙齿。
2.架子用绳子吊在天花板上，但是那些老鼠还是可以接触到放在架子上的面包和奶酪。
3.它们甚至咬坏地板和门、墙，咬出通道，去得到它们想要的东西。它们那么狡猾而迅速，猫也抓不住它们。
4.这些老鼠实在太令人烦恼了，以至于人们觉得，要除掉它们的唯一方法就是把房子毁掉。
5.一个很偶然的机会，两个男孩用捕鼠器抓住了一只小老鼠。
6.没有做好事的想法，而只是为了好玩，他们在小老鼠的脖子上绑上一个铃铛，然后把它放走了。
7.那只老鼠跑去加入它的朋友队伍，但是奇怪的铃铛声使它们害怕然后跑开了，有些跑这边，有些跑那边，就像你在这幅图画看到的那样。
8.我们的小老鼠马上就知道它们逃走的原因了，满心想着开玩笑，它追着它们跑，晃动铃铛，声音尽可能地响亮。
9.就这样它赶着它们从一个洞穴跑到另一个洞穴，从一个房间到另一个房间，直到最后它们全部都跑出了房子外面。
10.这下小老鼠独享音乐和整座房子，在一段时间里，跑来跑去晃动铃铛，把它能找到的好东西都吃掉，这样确实很好玩。可是最后，它对独自生活感到厌倦了。
11.那曾经让它非常快乐的铃铛，现在成了一个大麻烦。因为，尽管它费了很大的劲，还是无法靠近任何一只老鼠。
12.然后，我们的老鼠试图把铃铛摘下来。它用前爪拉扯铃铛，直到把它脖子上的皮都磨掉了。一切还是徒劳。老鼠又累又厌倦。
13.它再也不在乎丰富的食物和游戏了。有一天，就在它悲伤而缓慢地从一个房间爬到另一个房间的时候，它进入了小猫的去路，猫咪吃掉了这座房子里的最后一只老鼠，在一瞬间结束了它的生命，也把它从忧伤中解脱出来。
31
JOHNNY AND THE BLUE MARBLE
约翰尼和蓝色的弹珠
1.John.-Mother，what verse in the Bible do you think itbest for a little boy to learn？
2.Mother.-Thou God seest ①me，is a very good one.Little boys are apt to do things when alone that they ought not to，for they think no one will know it.
3.John.-Does God look into boys‘pockets？
4.Mother.-Yes.
5.John.-I wish God could speak as well as see.But He can’t-can He，mother？
6.Mother.-Yes.
7.John.-Can He？（And John opened his eyes wide.）8.Mother.-O yes；but He speaks in a still，small voice.
9.John.-I never heard Him.What does it sound like？likethe wind？
10.Mother.-God‘s voice does not sound like the wind.It speaks in your heart，and very softly，too.
11.John.-And what does it say？
12.Mother.-When you are naughty，it says-Don’t，Johnny，①注：此处为古英语，Thou=You；seest=sees。
don‘t；don’t do so.But when you are good，it says-That is right，that is right，my child.
13.For several days John listened for the small voice；and as he seemed very happy，I think he heard it say-That is right，that is right，my child.
14.But one day，when John took his marbles out of his pocket，out came a pretty blue marble.
15.What a beauty！said his mother，as she took it from his hand.Where did you get it？
16.John did not answer，but tried to snatch it out of her hand.
17.Why！what can this mean？And you may be sure his mother was surprised.
18.She looked at Johnny，but he did not look at her；no，he hung down his head.
19.Then she began to think something must be wrong.What could it be？And she asked again.
20.John，where did you get this marble！
21.But John did not answer；and mamma walked slowly away，feeling sad about her little boy.
22.At night，when she put him to bed，he climbed into her lap，and laying his head on her shoulder，said in a low，sorry tone-I took that marble，mother.
23.Mother.-Took it！Of whom did you take it？
24.John.-I took it from the ground.
25.Mother.-Did it belong to the ground？How did theground get it？Did the ground go to the shop and buy it？
26.John tried to laugh at such a funny idea，but he could not.
He had heard the voice all the afternoon saying，27.No，Johnny，no！that was not right.The ground did not own the marble.It is some little boy‘s marble.It is not your marble，Johnny.
28.Mother.-Whose marble is it？What little boy had it before it was on the ground？Do you know，John？
29.John.-Asa May，I guess.But I saw it on the ground.
30.Mother.-When you put your hand out to take it up，did you forget，Thou God seest me？
31.And when you put it in your pocket to keep，did you not hear the small voice saying，Don’t，John，don‘t！It is not your marble；it is Asa May’s？
32.John.-No，mother，I didn‘t hear；I grabbed quick！
And John put his arms around his mother’s neck，and sobbed aloud.
33.The next morning，John handed the marble to Asa May，saying as he did so，I found it on the ground，but it is not my marble；isn‘t it your blue marble？
34.Asa saw at once that it was his marble.O！thank you，John；I am so glad！I thought I had lost it.
35.Uncle George gave it to me as he went away to the war；and he is dead now.O！I am so glad it is not lost.And the bright tears stood in his eyes.
36.As little John ran home，he felt very happy；for the voicebegan to talk，and it seemed to talk louder and louder.
37.And he almost thought a hand was put on his head，and that he heard，with his ears，the voice say，That is right！that is right，my child！
【中文阅读】
1.约翰--妈妈，你认为《圣经》里哪一篇诗篇最适合一个小男孩学习？