THE FARMER AND FORTUNE
农夫和命运之神
A Farmer was ploughing one day on his farm when he turned up a pot of golden coins with his plough.He was overjoyed at his discovery，and from that time forth made an offering daily at the shrine of the Goddess of the Earth.Fortune was displeased at this，and came to him and said，“My man，why do you give Earth the credit for the gift which I bestowed upon you？You never thought of thanking me for your good luck；but should you be unlucky enough to lose what you have gained I know very well that I，Fortune，should then come in for all the blame.”
Show gratitude where gratitude is due.
｛中文阅读｝
有个农夫在耕地时用犁耙出一坛金币，他欣喜若狂，从那之后，他每天都用丰富的供品来供奉土地爷。命运之神对此很生气，来到他面前，说：“喂，朋友，那坛金币是我送给你的礼物，你为什么要去供奉土地爷呢？赋予你如此好的运气，你却从未想过感谢我；如果你运气不好，丢了本应属于你的东西，我敢保证，你一定会埋怨我这个命运之神了。”
应该感恩时，一定要表现出来。
JUPITER AND THE MONKEY
朱庇特和猴子
Jupiter issued a proclamation to all the beasts，and offered a prize to the one who，in his judgment，produced the most beautiful offspring.Among the rest came the Monkey，carrying a baby monkey in her arms，a hairless，？at-nosed little fright.When they saw it，the gods all burst into peal on peal of laughter；but the Monkey hugged her little one to her，and said，“Jupiter may give the prize to whomsoever he likes：but I shall always think my baby the most beautiful of them all.”
｛中文阅读｝
朱庇特通知森林中所有动物，要给那些他认为拥有最漂亮子孙的动物颁奖。母猴怀里抱着一只扁鼻无毛、相貌丑陋的小猴子，与其它动物一起来到朱庇特那里参加评奖。当大家看到那只小猴子时，发出一阵哄堂大笑。但是，母猴却抱紧了自己的孩子，坚定地说：“朱庇特或许会奖励他最喜欢的那一个，但是，我坚定地认为自己的孩子就是最最漂亮的那一个。”
FATHER AND SONS
父亲和儿子
A certain man had several Sons who were always quarrelling with one another，and，try as he might，he could not get them to live together in harmony.So he determined to convince them of their folly by the following means.Bidding them fetch a bundle of sticks，he invited each in turn to break it across his knee.All tried and all failed：and then he undid the bundle，and handed them the sticks one by one，when they had no dif？culty at all in breaking them.“There，my boys，”said he，“united you will be more than a match for your enemies：but if you quarrel and separate，your weakness will put you at the mercy of those who attack you.”
Union is strength.
｛中文阅读｝
有一个人生养了几个儿子，可是儿子们之间总爱争吵不休，父亲无论做什么，都无法使儿子们和睦相处。于是，他决定用下面的方法来说服儿子们。他让儿子们取来一捆木棒，大家轮流试着用膝盖折断它们。几个儿子分别试了一下，可是都失败了。接着，他拆开那捆木棒，一根一根地交给儿子们，这时，他们便毫不费力地折断了木棒。“看吧，我的孩子，”他说，“你们若能齐心协力，便可与敌人抗衡。但是，如果你们之间不团结且各自为营，那么这个弱点就会使你们任由敌人摆布了。”
团结就是力量。
THE LAMP
油灯
A Lamp，well ？lled with oil，burned with a clear and steady light，and began to swell with pride and boast that it shone more brightly than the sun himself.Just then a puff of wind came and blew it out.Some one struck a match and lit it again，and said，“You just keep alight，and never mind the sun.Why，even the stars never need to be relit as you had to be just now.”
｛中文阅读｝
有一盏装满油的油灯，在燃烧时发出了清晰稳定的亮光。油灯开始洋洋得意起来，以为自己发出的光比太阳光还要亮得多。就在这时，一阵风吹来，灯马上被吹灭了。有人过来又点燃了它，并说道：“你就好好亮着吧，永远不要去想太阳。为什么？因为即便是星星，也不会像你刚才一样被风吹灭。”
THE OWL AND THE BIRDS
猫头鹰和百鸟
The Owl is a very wise bird；and once，long ago，when the ？rst oak sprouted in the forest，she called all the other Birds together and said to them，“You see this tiny tree？If you take my advice，you will destroy it now when it is small：for when it grows big，the mistletoe will appear upon it，from which birdlime will be prepared for your destruction.”Again，when the ？rst ？ax was sown，she said to them，“Go and eat up that seed，for it is the seed of the ？ax，out of which men will one day make nets to catch you.”Once more，when she saw the ？rst archer，she warned the Birds that he was their deadly enemy，who would wing hisarrows with their own feathers and shoot them.But they took no noticeof what she said：in fact，they thought she was rather mad，and laughed at her.When，however，everything turned out as she had foretold，they changed their minds and conceived a great respect for her wisdom.Hence，whenever she appears，the Birds attend upon her in the hope of hearing something that may be for their good.She，however，gives them advice no longer，but sits moping and pondering on the folly of her kind.
｛中文阅读｝
猫头鹰是一种非常聪明的鸟。很久以前，第一只猫头鹰开始在森林里扎根繁衍时，她召集起所有的鸟类，对他们说：“你们看到这棵小树了吗？要是愿意听从我的建议，在它还没长成大树之前，就先毁掉它。因为当它长成参天大树之后，就会出现槲寄生，继而你们就等着被专门捕鸟的粘圈毁灭吧。”当亚麻种子第一次出现在森林里时，她又对鸟儿们说：“去吃掉那些种子，因为这是亚麻种子，要是没有亚麻，人类就无法织网来捕鸟了。”还有一次，当她第一次看到弓箭手时，就提醒鸟儿们注意这是它们的死敌，因为人们会用带有鸟类羽毛的箭来射死鸟类。但是，鸟儿们并没有将她的话放在心上，正相反，鸟儿们还嘲笑她是个疯子。然而，当事实正如猫头鹰预言的那样依次出现时，鸟儿们开始改变自己的思想了，并且大大佩服并赞赏猫头鹰的智慧。由此，只要猫头鹰一出现，鸟儿们就会趋之若鹜，想听到一些对自己有益的忠言。不过，猫头鹰已经不再提出忠告，而只是百无聊赖地坐在那里，沉浸在自己心中的遐想之中。
THE ASS IN THE LION’S SKIN
披着狮皮的驴
An Ass found a Lion’s Skin，and dressed himself up in it.Then he went about frightening every one he met，for they all took him to be a lion，men and beasts alike，and took to their heels when they saw him coming.Elated by the success of his trick，he loudly brayed in triumph.The Fox heard him，and recognised him at once for the Ass he was，and said to him，“Oho，my friend，it’s you，is it？I，too，should have been afraid if I hadn’t heard your voice.”
｛中文阅读｝
一头驴发现了一张狮子的皮，于是就披到身上。他走出去吓唬其它动物，所有见到他的人和动物都把他当成了狮子，吓得四处逃跑。驴见自己的诡计得逞了，兴奋地大叫起来。狐狸听到了他的声音，立刻认出这是一头驴，于是就对他说：“哦，朋友，这才是真正的你，是吗？要不是听到了你的声音，我也被你吓着了。”突然一阵风刮来，把驴身上披着的狮皮吹走了，驴子原形毕露。这时，动物们见此情形，又都跑回来，用木板和棍棒狠狠地打他。
THE SHE-GOATS AND THEIR BEARDS
母山羊和她们的胡须
Jupiter granted beards to the She-Goats at their own request，much to the disgust of the he-Goats，who considered this to be an unwarrantable invasion of their rights and dignities.So they sent a deputation to him to protest against his action.He，however，advised them not to raise any objections.“What’s in a tuft of hair？”said he.“Let them have it if they want it.They can never be a match for you in strength.”
｛中文阅读｝
朱庇特答应了母山羊的请求，让她们也长出胡须，但是公山羊对此非常不高兴，抱怨女人无理侵犯他们的权利和尊严。因此，为了反对这一举动，他们派出代表向朱庇特抗议。不过，朱庇特劝他们不要提出任何异议。“一绺毛发能算什么呢？”朱庇特说道，“如果她们想要，就让她们拥有吧。但是她们的力量永远无法与你们匹敌。”
THE OLD LION
老狮子