The Monkey and the Turtle

 A monkey, looking very sad and dejected, was walking along the bank of the river one day when he met a turtle.

 

“How are you?” asked the turtle, noticing that he looked sad.

 

The monkey replied, “Oh, my friend, I am very hungry. The squash¹ of Mr. Farmer were all taken by the other monkeys, and now I am about to die from want of food.”

 

“Do not be discouraged,” said the turtle; “take a bolo and follow me and we will steal some banana plants.”

 

So they walked along together until they found some nice plants which they dug up, and then they looked for a place to set them. Finally the monkey climbed a tree and planted his in it, but as the turtle could not climb he dug a hole in the ground and set his there.

 

When their work was finished they went away, planning what they should do with their crop. The monkey said:

 

“When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and have a great deal of money.”

 

And the turtle said: “When my tree bears fruit, I shall sell it and buy three varas of cloth to wear in place of this cracked shell.” [177]

 

A few weeks later they went back to the place to see their plants and found that that of the monkey was dead, for its roots had had no soil in the tree, but that of the turtle was tall and bearing² fruit.

 

“I will climb to the top so that we can get the fruit,” said the monkey. And he sprang up the tree, leaving the poor turtle on the ground alone.

 

“Please give me some to eat,” called the turtle, but the monkey threw him only a green one and ate all the ripe ones himself.

 

When he had eaten all the good bananas, the monkey stretched his arms around the tree and went to sleep. The turtle, seeing this, was very angry and considered how he might punish the thief. Having decided³ on a scheme, he gathered some sharp bamboo which he stuck all around under the tree, and then he exclaimed:

 

“Crocodile is coming! Crocodile is coming!”

 

The monkey was so startled⁴ at the cry that he fell upon the sharp bamboo and was killed.

 

Then the turtle cut the dead monkey into pieces, put salt on it, and dried it in the sun. The next day, he went to the mountains and sold his meat to other monkeys who gladly gave him squash in return. As he was leaving them he called back:

 

“Lazy fellows, you are now eating your own body; you are now eating your own body.”

 

Then the monkeys ran and caught him and carried him to their own home.

 

“Let us take a hatchet⁵,” said one old monkey, “and cut him into very small pieces.”

 

But the turtle laughed and said: “That is just what [178]I like, I have been struck with a hatchet many times. Do you not see the black scars⁶ on my shell?”

 

Then one of the other monkeys said: “Let us throw him into the water,”

 

At this the turtle cried and begged them to spare his life, but they paid no heed⁷ to his pleadings and threw him into the water. He sank to the bottom, but very soon came up with a lobster⁸. The monkeys were greatly surprised at this and begged him to tell them how to catch lobsters⁹.

 

“I tied one end of a string around my waist,” said the turtle. “To the other end of the string I tied a stone so that I would sink.”

 

The monkeys immediately tied strings¹⁰ around themselves as the turtle said, and when all was ready they plunged¹¹ into the water never to come up again.

 

And to this day monkeys do not like to eat meat, because they remember the ancient story.

1 squash   

n.壁球，摺皱不堪，拥挤嘈杂的人群，浓缩果汁，美国南瓜；vt.压扁，压制；vi.变扁，压榨

参考例句：

• He is drinking lemon squash.他正在喝柠檬露。
• She sprained her ankle playing squash.她在打软式墙网球时扭伤了脚踝。

2 bearing   

n.关系，影响，举止，姿态，方位，方向

参考例句：

• What you said had not much bearing on the problem.你说的话跟这个问题没有多大关系。
• He preserved his grave and dignified bearing.他保持庄重威严的仪态。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 startled   

adj.受惊吓的v.使惊跳，使大吃一惊( startle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A crowd of 2000 was startled near the end of the concert. 2000名观众在音乐会将近结束时大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Startled by the sudden whistle of the train, the horse broke away. 火车突然鸣笛，那匹马受惊脱逃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

6 scars   

n.伤痕( scar的名词复数 )；精神上的创伤；有损外观的地方；裸岩

参考例句：

• Slowly the war scars faded. 战争的创伤慢慢地消失了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I've got scars from head to toe in tribute to my courage. 为了嘉奖我的胆量，我得到浑身的伤疤。 来自辞典例句

7 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

8 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

9 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

10 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

11 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。