第5章
THE LION AND THE MOUSE
狮子与报恩的老鼠
A Lion asleep in his lair was waked up by a Mouse running over his face.Losing his temper he seized it with his paw and was about to kill it.The Mouse，terrified，piteously entreated him to spare its life."Please let me go，"it cried，"and one day I will repay you for your kindness."The idea of so insignificant a creature ever being able to do anything for him amused the Lion so much that he laughed aloud，and good-humouredly let it go.But the Mouse's chance came，after all.One day the Lion got entangled in a net which had been spread for game by some hunters，and the Mouse heard and recognized his roars of anger and ran to the spot.Without more ado it set to work to gnaw the ropes with its teeth，and succeeded before long in setting the Lion free."There！"said the Mouse，"you laughed at me when I promised I would repay you：but now you see，even a Mouse can help a Lion."
｛中文阅读｝
狮子在自己的窝里睡着了，却被一只跑到他脸上的老鼠吵醒了。狮子非常生气，用爪子抓住老鼠，准备弄死他。战战兢兢的老鼠请求狮子饶了他的性命。“求你放了我吧，”老鼠哭喊道，“我肯定会报答你的恩情。”一个不足挂齿的小生命肯为自己做任何事，狮子被如此无意义的想法逗笑了，便随和地放他走了。不久，老鼠报恩的机会终于来了。有一天，狮子被猎人们布好的大网缠住了，愤怒地大吼起来，老鼠听到了狮子的哀嚎，迅速赶来。老鼠轻松地走过去开始噬咬绳索，很快就成功地放走了狮子。老鼠说：“看吧！当我许诺要报答你时，你还嘲笑我；现在你可看到了，即便一只小老鼠也能帮助一头大狮子。”
THE CROW AND THE PITCHER
乌鸦和水罐
A thirsty Crow found a Pitcher with some water in it，but so little was there that，try as she might，she could not reach it with her beak，and it seemed as though she would die of thirst within sight of the remedy.At last she hit upon a clever plan.She began dropping pebbles into the Pitcher，and with each pebble the water rose a little higher until at last it reached the brim，and the knowing bird was enabled to quench her thirst.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
｛中文阅读｝
一只口渴的乌鸦发现了一个大水罐，虽然里面没有多少水，但毕竟也能解解渴，于是她想尽办法用自己的长喙去接触水面，然而，尽管救命之水就在跟前，可她却无能为力。最后，她想出一条妙计。乌鸦开始用嘴叼着石子投到水罐里，每丢进去一粒石子，水面就会上升一点。终于，水面上升到了乌鸦的嘴边，她高兴地喝到了水，解了口渴。
需求是发明之母。
THE BOYS AND THE FROGS
男孩和青蛙
Some mischievous Boys were playing on the edge of a pond，and，catching sight of some Frogs swimming about in the shallow water，they began to amuse themselves by pelting them with stones，and they killed several of them.At last one of the Frogs put his head out of the water and said，"Oh，stop！stop！I beg of you：what is sport to you is death to us."
｛中文阅读｝
几个淘气的孩子在水池边玩耍，浅水中正在游泳的几只青蛙映入了他们的眼帘，他们便用石头去打青蛙，以此作为消遣娱乐。甚至于，他们还打死了几只青蛙。最后，一只青蛙从水中伸出头来，说：“住手！住手！求你们不要再打了。对你们来说，这是一个活动，可是对于我们来说，却是致命一击啊。”
THE NORTH WIND AND THE SUN
北风与太阳
A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun，each claiming that he was stronger than the other.At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveler，to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak.The North Wind had the first try；and，gathering up all his force for the attack，he came whirling furiously down upon the man，and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by one single effort：but the harder he blew，the more closely the man wrapped it round himself.Then came the turn of the Sun.At first he beamed gently upon the traveler，who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders：then he shone forth in his full strength，and the man，before he had gone many steps，was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad.
Persuasion is better than force.
｛中文阅读｝
北风与太阳争论不休，双方都在强调自己的能量更大。最后，他们一致赞同在一个行人身上试验自己的力量，看看谁能够最快速地让行人脱下衣服。北风先开始发威，他用尽全身力气攻击行人，猛烈的旋风向着行人袭来，并且拖住他的衣角以便使行人身上的衣服自行脱落；然而，风吹得越猛烈，这个行人越是紧紧裹住了自己的衣服。接下来，该太阳上场了。太阳开始温和地照耀着行人，行人很快就边走边解开衣服上的扣子，将其松散地搭在肩上；接着，太阳强烈地发光射向大地，已经走了很久的行人开心地脱掉衣服，轻装上阵。
温和的说服胜于蛮横的武力。
THE MISTRESS AND HER SERVANTS
女主人和仆人
A Widow，thrifty and industrious，had two servants，whom she kept pretty hard at work.They were not allowed to lie long abed in the mornings，but the old lady had them up and doing as soon as the cock crew.They disliked intensely having to get up at such an hour，especially in winter-time：and they thought that if it were not for the cock waking up their Mistress so horribly early，they could sleep longer.So they caught it and wrung its neck.But they weren't prepared for the consequences.For what happened was that their Mistress，not hearing the cock crow as usual，waked them up earlier than ever，and set them to work in the middle of the night.