THE OXEN AND THE WHEELS

 A pair of Oxen were drawing a heavily loaded wagon¹ along a miry country road. They had to use all their strength to pull the wagon, but they did not complain.

 

The Wheels of the wagon were of a different sort. Though the task they had to do was very light compared with that of the Oxen, they creaked and groaned² at every turn. The poor Oxen, pulling with all their might to draw the wagon through the deep mud, had their ears filled with the loud complaining of the Wheels. And this, you may well know, made their work so much the harder to endure.

 

"Silence!" the Oxen cried at last, out of patience. "What have you Wheels to complain about so loudly? We are drawing all the weight, not you, and we are keeping still about it besides."

 

They complain most who suffer least.
 

 

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

 

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you."

 

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

 

Some days later, while stalking his prey³ in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils⁴ of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed⁵ it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

 

"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

 

A kindness is never wasted.
 

 

A Shepherd Boy tended his master's Sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse himself was to talk to his dog or play on his shepherd's pipe.

 

One day as he sat watching the Sheep and the quiet forest, and thinking what he would do should he see a Wolf, he thought of a plan to amuse himself.

 

His Master had told him to call for help should a Wolf attack the flock, and the Villagers would drive it away. So now, though he had not seen anything that even looked like a Wolf, he ran toward the village shouting at the top of his voice, "Wolf! Wolf!"

 

As he expected, the Villagers who heard the cry dropped their work and ran in great excitement to the pasture. But when they got there they found the Boy doubled up with laughter at the trick he had played on them.

 

A few days later the Shepherd Boy again shouted, "Wolf! Wolf!" Again the Villagers ran to help him, only to be laughed at again.

 

Then one evening as the sun was setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the pasture, a Wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon the Sheep.

 

In terror the Boy ran toward the village shouting "Wolf! Wolf!" But though the Villagers heard the cry, they did not run to help him as they had before. "He cannot fool us again," they said.

 

The Wolf killed a great many of the Boy's sheep and then slipped away into the forest.

 

Liars⁶ are not believed even when they speak the truth.
 

 

A Gnat⁷ flew over the meadow with much buzzing for so small a creature and settled on the tip of one of the horns of a Bull. After he had rested a short time, he made ready to fly away. But before he left he begged the Bull's pardon for having used his horn for a resting place.

 

"You must be very glad to have me go now," he said.

 

"It's all the same to me," replied the Bull. "I did not even know you were there."

 

We are often of greater importance in our own eyes than in the eyes of our neighbor.

 

The smaller the mind the greater the conceit⁸.

 

 

Two Travellers, walking in the noonday sun, sought the shade of a widespreading tree to rest. As they lay looking up among the pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a Plane Tree.

 

"How useless is the Plane!" said one of them. "It bears no fruit whatever, and only serves to litter the ground with leaves."

 

"Ungrateful creatures!" said a voice from the Plane Tree. "You lie here in my cooling shade, and yet you say I am useless! Thus ungratefully, O Jupiter, do men receive their blessings⁹!"

 

Our best blessings are often the least appreciated.
 

 

A Stork¹⁰ of a very simple and trusting nature had been asked by a gay party of Cranes to visit a field that had been newly planted. But the party ended dismally¹¹ with all the birds entangled¹² in the meshes¹³ of the Farmer's net.

 

The Stork begged the Farmer to spare him.

 

"Please let me go," he pleaded. "I belong to the Stork family who you know are honest and birds of good character. Besides, I did not know the Cranes were going to steal."

 

"You may be a very good bird," answered the Farmer, "but I caught you with the thieving Cranes and you will have to share the same punishment with them."

 

You are judged by the company you keep.

1 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

2 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 toils   

网

参考例句：

• It did not declare him to be still in Mrs. Dorset's toils. 这并不表明他仍陷于多赛特夫人的情网。
• The thief was caught in the toils of law. 这个贼陷入了法网。

5 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

6 liars   

说谎者( liar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest liars talk most of themselves. 最爱自吹自擂的人是最大的说谎者。
• Honest boys despise lies and liars. 诚实的孩子鄙视谎言和说谎者。

7 gnat   

v.对小事斤斤计较，琐事

参考例句：

• Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.小事拘谨，大事糊涂。
• He's always straining at a gnat.他总是对小事很拘谨。

8 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

9 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

11 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

12 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 meshes   

网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境

参考例句：

• The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢，疏而不漏。
• This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。