Aesop's Fables (伊索寓言)
Story 1: The Man, the Boy and the Donkey
One day, a man and his son were walking to town with their donkey.
"Father," said the boy, "It is a long way to town. Can't I ride the donkey?"
"Sure, you can," the father answered. He lifted his son and put him on the donkey.
And they went on their way. Soon they passed some people.
"Look at that lazy boy!" one man said. "He rides, and his poor father walks."
The father frowned. "People are saying bad things about you. Maybe I should ride."
"All right," said the boy. The father put his son on the ground and climbed on the donkey.
After a while, they heard more voices. "Shame!" cried a woman. "That strong man rides, and the child walks."
The father frowned again. "We cannot please them." He lifted the boy up so that they both rode the donkey.
But another woman saw and cried, "How mean! That poor donkey is carrying too much."
"What should we do?" asked the boy.
"Perhaps we should both walk," said the father. They got off and led the donkey.
People laughed. One man said, "Stupid people! You have a donkey, yet you both walk."
The father frowned again and said, "See, my son, we can't please everyone. We should just decide the right thing and do it."
Story 2: The Bundle of Sticks
Once, there was an old man. He had three sons. The sons often fought and yelled at one another. This made their father feel very bad.
One day, he called his sons together. He showed them a bundle of sticks. They were tied together.
"Take this bundle of sticks and break it," he said, handing it to the oldest son.
"That will be easy," said the son. "I'm very strong!" The oldest son tried and tried. But the bundle of sticks would not break.
"You're so weak!" the second son cried.
"You try," their father said to him, handing the bundle to the second son. "Easy. I'm the strongest!" he said. But he also could not break it.
The youngest son tried next, but the bundle stayed whole.
Then their father untied the bundle. He handed each son a single stick. "Now break them," he said. Each son easily broke his stick.
"Do you see?" asked their father. "When the sticks are together, they are strong. When they are apart, they are weak. It is the same with you. If you fight and stand alone, you will be weak and can be broken. But if you stand together, you will be strong."
The sons looked at one another. Then the oldest one said, "Father, we understand. From now on, we will not fight anymore."
Language Tip
1. "See, my son, we can't please everyone."
通常 please 都是做感嘆詞「請」用，但本句中它是動詞「取悅、討好」或「使某人高興、滿意」。
• You don't have to please anyone. (你不必取悦任何人。)
• Alex always tries to please his parents. (Alex 總是試著討好父母。)
2. "Then their father untied the bundle."
動詞 untie 就是「鬆開、解開」，原動詞 tie 是「捆住、繫上」，字首加 un- 就是相反的意思了。
• Connie unpacked her bag after the trip. (Connie 旅行回來後把包包打開整理。)
• You look unhappy. Are you OK? (你看起來不太開心，還好嗎?)
Key Words
- lift (v) 舉起;提起
- lazy (adj) 懶惰的
- ground (n) 地,地面
- lead (v) 牽;帶領
- fight (v) 打架;打鬥
- tie (v) 綁;捆
- weak (adj) 弱的;虛弱的
- single (adj) 單一的
- alone (adv) 獨自地
Quiz (請在此區完成所有作答)
( ) 1. (T/F) The father climbed on the donkey first.
( ) 2. What lesson did the father want to teach his sons?