狐貍和野鴨 

　　聰明的狐貍利用自己的智慧得到了一頓美餐，但同時也讓我們明白了一個道理：不要漠視身邊的那些日常事物，危險往往會潛伏在其中。沒有插好的插頭，沒有關緊的煤氣灶，一個突出的小小棱角，都有可能對你或身邊的人造成傷害。

　　夏季里的一天，有個人坐在河岸邊的樹陰下，看河里的一大群野鴨在嬉戲。

　　過了一會兒，一根帶葉的樹枝漂到這群野鴨中間，嚇得它們都展翅飛了起來。它們在空中盤旋了一會兒，又落回到原來覓食的地方。

　　又過了一會兒，另外一根樹枝又漂到它們中間。鴨子們再一次從河面上飛了起來。但當它們發覺漂過來的樹枝不會對它們造成傷害時，便又像之前那樣落在了水面上。

　　當第四、第五根樹枝以同樣的方式漂到它們身邊時，野鴨們就不太留意它們了。最后，即使那些樹枝幾乎撞著它們了，鴨子們也懶得再飛起來了。

　　這一切，都落在岸邊的那個人的眼里。他開始懷疑，是否有誰故意在把樹枝扔在河里。他朝上游的方向看去，果然發現有一只狐貍在奸詐地觀察著鴨群。“它下一步要做什么呢？”他的心中充滿疑問。

　　當狐貍發現這些鴨子已不再害怕漂過來的樹枝時，它就找到一根更大的樹枝，伸長身體趴在上面，將自己隱藏在樹葉中，然后便隨著這根大樹枝一起順水漂了下去。

　　狡猾的老狐貍直到自己漂到鴨群中間時，才突然左右開弓，叼住了兩只肥美的小鴨子，漂離開鴨群。

　　其他的鴨子驚恐地遠遠飛開，而且很長時間都沒有再回落到這里。

　　就這樣，狐貍依靠自己的狡猾和耐心，得到了一頓美餐。

　　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 afra 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 hden. 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 d not come back for a long time。

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