The Monkey and the Crocodile.

 Tagalog Version.

 

Narrated¹ by Engracio Abasola of Manila. He heard the story from his nephew.

 

One day, while a clever monkey was searching for his food along the river-bank, he saw a tall macopa-tree laden² with ripe fruits. The tree was standing³ just by the shore of a river where a young crocodile lived. After eating all the fruit he wanted, the monkey climbed down the tree. He suddenly conceived the desire of getting on the other side of the wide river, but he found no means by which to cross. At last he saw the crocodile, [375]who had just waked up from his siesta⁴; and the monkey said to him in a friendly way, “My dear crocodile, will you do me a favor?”

 

The crocodile was greatly surprised by this amicable⁵ salutation of the monkey. However, he answered humbly⁶, “Oh, yes! If there is anything I can do for you, I shall be glad to do it.” The monkey then told the crocodile that he wanted to reach the other side of the river. Then the crocodile said, “I’ll take you over with all my heart. Just sit on my back, and we’ll go at once.”

 

When the monkey was firmly seated on the crocodile’s back, they began their trip. In a short while they reached the middle of the stream, and the crocodile began to laugh aloud. “Now, you foolish monkey!” it said, “I’ll eat your liver and kidneys, for I’m very hungry.” The monkey became nervous; but he concealed⁷ his anxiety, and said, “To be sure! I thought myself that you might be hungry, so I prepared my liver and kidneys for your dinner; but unfortunately, in our haste to depart, I left them hanging on the macopa-tree. I’m very glad that you mentioned the matter. Let us return, and I’ll get you the food.”

 

The foolish crocodile, convinced that the monkey was telling the truth, turned back toward the shore they had just left. When they were near, the monkey nimbly jumped on to the dry land and scampered⁸ up the tree. When the crocodile saw how he had been deceived, he said, “I am a fool.”

 

1 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 siesta   

n.午睡

参考例句：

• Lots of people were taking a short siesta in the shade.午后很多人在阴凉处小睡。
• He had acquired the knack of snatching his siesta in the most unfavourable circumstance.他学会了在最喧闹的场合下抓紧时间睡觉的诀窍。

5 amicable   

adj.和平的，友好的；友善的

参考例句：

• The two nations reached an amicable agreement.两国达成了一项友好协议。
• The two nations settled their quarrel in an amicable way.两国以和睦友好的方式解决了他们的争端。

6 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

7 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

8 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》