The Monkey and the Turtle.

 Narrated by José M. Katigbak of Batangas, Batangas. This is a genuine¹ Tagalog story, he says, which he heard from his friend Angel Reyes.

 

Once upon a time there was a turtle who was very kind and patient. He had many friends. Among them was a monkey, who was very selfish. He always wanted to have the best part of everything.

 

One day the monkey went to visit the turtle. The monkey asked his friend to accompany him on a journey to the next village. The turtle agreed, and they started early the next morning. The monkey did not take much food with him, because he did not like to carry a heavy load. The turtle, on the contrary, took a big supply. He advised the monkey to take more, but the monkey only laughed at him. After they had been travelling five days, the monkey’s food was all gone, so the turtle had to give him some. The monkey was greedy, and kept asking for more all the time. “Give me some more, friend turtle!” he said.

 

“Wait a little while,” said the turtle. “We have just finished eating.”

 

As the monkey made no reply, they travelled on. After a few minutes the monkey stopped, and said, “Can’t you travel a little faster?”

 

“I can’t, for I have a very heavy load,” said the turtle.

 

“Give me the load, and then we shall get along more rapidly,” said the monkey. The turtle handed over all his food to the monkey, who ran away as fast as he could, leaving the turtle far behind.

 

“Wait for me!” said the turtle, doing his best to catch his friend; but the monkey only shouted, “Come on!” and scampered² [370]out of sight. The turtle was soon very tired and much out of breath, but he kept on. The monkey climbed a tree by the roadside, and looked back. When he saw his friend very far in the rear³, he ate some of the food. At last the turtle came up. He was very hungry, and asked the monkey for something to eat.

 

“Come on a little farther,” said the selfish monkey. “We will eat near a place where we can get water.” The turtle did not say anything, but kept plodding⁴ on. The monkey ran ahead and did the same thing as before, but this time he ate all the food.

 

“Why did you come so late?” said the monkey when the turtle came up panting⁵.

 

“Because I am so hungry that I cannot walk fast,” answered the turtle. “Will you give me some food?” he continued.

 

“There is no more,” replied the monkey. “You brought very little. I ate all there was, and I am still hungry.”

 

As the turtle had no breath to waste, he continued on the road. While they were on their way, they met a hunter. The monkey saw the hunter and climbed a tree, but the man caught the turtle and took it home with him. The monkey laughed at his friend’s misfortune⁶. But the hunter was kind to the turtle: he tied it near a banana-tree, and gave it food every hour.

 

One day the monkey happened to pass near the house of the hunter. When he saw that his friend was tied fast, he sneered⁷ at him; but after he had remained there a few hours, and had seen how the turtle was fed every hour, he envied the turtle’s situation. So when night came, and the hunter was asleep, the monkey went up to the turtle, and said, “Let me be in your place.”

 

“No, I like this place,” answered the turtle.

 

The monkey, however, kept urging and begging the turtle, so that finally the turtle yielded⁸. Then the monkey set the turtle free, and tied himself to the tree. The turtle went off happy; and the monkey was so pleased, that he could hardly sleep during the night for thinking of the food the hunter would give him in the morning.

 

Early the next morning the hunter woke and looked out of his window. He caught sight of the monkey, and thought that the animal was stealing his bananas. So he took his gun and [371]shot him dead. Thus the turtle became free, and the monkey was killed.

 

MORAL⁹: Do not be selfish.

 

1 genuine   

adj.真的，非人造的；真诚的，真心的

参考例句：

• On further examination it was found that the signature was not genuine.经过进一步的调查发现签名不是真的。
• As time went on,a genuine friendship grew up between us.随着时间的推移，我们之间产生了一种真挚的友情。

2 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 rear   

vt.抚养，饲养；n.后部，后面

参考例句：

• We had to rear it in a nursery and plant it out.我们不得不在苗棚里培育它，然后再把它移植出来。
• The hall is in the rear of the building.礼堂在大楼的后部。

4 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

5 panting   

(发动机等的)喷气声

参考例句：

• She finished the race panting heavily. 她跑完比赛气喘吁吁的。
• After the long race, the runner was panting for breath. 长跑之后，那个运动员正在喘气。

6 misfortune   

n.不幸，厄运，逆境，不幸事故，灾难

参考例句：

• It is said to be an omen of misfortune.那被认为是一种不幸的先兆。
• She had the misfortune to break her leg.她不幸摔断了腿。

7 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

8 yielded   

vt.屈服，投降（yield的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• She yielded me her books. 她把书让给了我。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She yielded her property to me. 她把她的财产让给我了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 moral   

adj.道德(上)的，有道德的；n.品行，寓意，道德

参考例句：

• Moral beauty ought to be ranked above all other beauty.品德之美应列于其他美之上。
• He deceived us into believing that he could give us moral support.他骗得我们相信他能给我们道义上的支持。