THE MAN AND THE SATYR

 A long time ago a Man met a Satyr in the forest and succeeded in making friends with him. The two soon became the best of comrades¹, living together in the Man's hut². But one cold winter evening, as they were walking homeward, the Satyr saw the Man blow on his fingers.

 

"Why do you do that?" asked the Satyr.

 

"To warm my hands," the Man replied.

 

When they reached home the Man prepared two bowls of porridge. These he placed steaming hot on the table, and the comrades sat down very cheerfully³ to enjoy the meal. But much to the Satyr's surprise, the Man began to blow into his bowl of porridge.

 

"Why do you do that?" he asked.

 

"To cool my porridge," replied the Man.

 

The Satyr sprang hurriedly to his feet and made for the door.

 

"Goodby," he said, "I've seen enough. A fellow that blows hot and cold in the same breath⁴ cannot be friends with me!"

 

The man who talks for both sides is not to be trusted by either.

1 comrades   

n.亲密的伙伴( comrade的名词复数 )；战友；朋友；同志

参考例句：

• They were old army comrades. 他们是部队的老战友。
• In conclusion she wished her comrades every success in their work. 最后她祝同志们工作顺利。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 hut   

n.棚子；简陋的小房子

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• The poor old man lived in a little wooden hut.那个贫穷的老人住在一间小木屋内。

3 cheerfully   

adv.高兴地，愉快地

参考例句：

• The train rolled cheerfully into the station.火车欢呼着驶进车站。
• He takes our advice quite cheerfully.他欣然接受我们的劝告。

4 breath   

n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。