狐狸和野鸭 

　　聪明的狐狸利用自己的智慧得到了一顿美餐，但同时也让我们明白了一个道理：不要漠视身边的那些日常事物，危险往往会潜伏在其中。没有插好的插头，没有关紧的煤气灶，一个突出的小小棱角，都有可能对你或身边的人造成伤害。

　　夏季里的一天，有个人坐在河岸边的树阴下，看河里的一大群野鸭在嬉戏。

　　过了一会儿，一根带叶的树枝漂到这群野鸭中间，吓得它们都展翅飞了起来。它们在空中盘旋了一会儿，又落回到原来觅食的地方。

　　又过了一会儿，另外一根树枝又漂到它们中间。鸭子们再一次从河面上飞了起来。但当它们发觉漂过来的树枝不会对它们造成伤害时，便又像之前那样落在了水面上。

　　当第四、第五根树枝以同样的方式漂到它们身边时，野鸭们就不太留意它们了。最后，即使那些树枝几乎撞着它们了，鸭子们也懒得再飞起来了。

　　这一切，都落在岸边的那个人的眼里。他开始怀疑，是否有谁故意在把树枝扔在河里。他朝上游的方向看去，果然发现有一只狐狸在奸诈地观察着鸭群。“它下一步要做什么呢？”他的心中充满疑问。

　　当狐狸发现这些鸭子已不再害怕漂过来的树枝时，它就找到一根更大的树枝，伸长身体趴在上面，将自己隐藏在树叶中，然后便随着这根大树枝一起顺水漂了下去。

　　狡猾的老狐狸直到自己漂到鸭群中间时，才突然左右开弓，叼住了两只肥美的小鸭子，漂离开鸭群。

　　其他的鸭子惊恐地远远飞开，而且很长时间都没有再回落到这里。

　　就这样，狐狸依靠自己的狡猾和耐心，得到了一顿美餐。

　　The Fox and the Ducks

　　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。

　　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. 

　　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。

　　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。

　　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。

　　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。

　　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。

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

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