第30章 The Farmer and the Cranes 农夫和鹤

SOME CRANES made their feeding grounds on some plowlands newly sown with wheat. For a long time the Farmer, brandishing an empty sling, chased them away by the terror he inspired; but when the birds found that the sling was only swung in the air, they ceased to take any notice of it and would not move. The Farmer, on seeing this, charged his sling with stones, and killed a great number. The remaining birds at once forsook his fields, crying to each other, "It is time for us to be off to Liliput: for this man is no longer content to scare us, but begins to show us in earnest what he can do."

If words suffice not, blows must follow.

一些鹤经常去新播种的麦田里觅食。在很长的一段时间，农夫只是挥舞着一条锁链，把鹤惊吓走。后来，鹤渐渐发现，农夫的锁链只是在空中挥舞，而不会对他们造成任何伤害，于是他们再也不会逃跑了。看到了这些，农夫就在锁链里加了石头，打死了很多鹤。幸存的鹤立刻逃离了农田，向伙伴们哭诉：“我们必须离开这个‘理想家园’了，因为农夫已经不满足于只是恐吓我们，而是开始行动了！”

出其不意，攻其不备。