The Wolves sent a deputation to the Sheep with proposals for a lasting peace between them，on condition of their giving up the sheep-dogs to instant death.The foolish Sheep agreed to the terms；but an old Ram，whose years had brought him wisdom，interfered and said，“How can we expect to live at peace with you？Why，even with the dogs at hand to protect us，we are never secure from your murderous attacks！”
｛中文阅读｝
狼群派了一个使者到羊群那里去送一份缔结永久和平的建议书，其中提出，只要羊群放弃牧羊犬的看护，并把他处死，狼群便愿意与羊群和平相处。愚蠢的羊群同意了狼群的提议，但是一只上了年纪的公羊因年长而颇具智慧，他说：“即便眼前有狗在保护我们，我们尚且不能平安地逃出你们的魔爪，还怎么敢期望着与你们和平相处呢？”
THE SWAN
天鹅
The Swan is said to sing but once in its life—when it knows that itis about to die.A certain man，who had heard of the song of the Swan，one day saw one of these birds for sale in the market，and bought it and took it home with him.A few days later he had some friends to dinner，and produced the Swan，and bade it sing for their entertainment：but the Swan remained silent.In course of time，when it was growing old，it became aware of its approaching end and broke into a sweet，sad song.When its owner heard it，he said angrily，“If the creature only sings when it is about to die，what a fool I was that day I wanted to hear its song！I ought to have wrung its neck instead of merely inviting it to sing.”
｛中文阅读｝
据说，天鹅一生只唱一次歌，只有在他死期临近时才唱。一个曾经听过天鹅那优美歌声的人，偶然在市场上看到几只天鹅正待出售，便买了一只带回家。几天后，他邀请了几个朋友来吃饭，并介绍了自己的天鹅，让他唱首歌来助兴。可是，天鹅却始终保持沉默。后来，终于有一天，天鹅慢慢老了，他知道自己死期将至，便展开歌喉，唱出了一曲甜美哀婉的歌。主人听到后，生气地说：“如果你真是在临死前才肯唱歌，那我多么愚蠢呀！我真应该在那天就拧断你的脖子，而不仅仅是让你唱歌了。”
THE SNAKE AND JUPITER
蛇和朱庇特
A Snake suffered a good deal from being constantly trodden upon by man and beast，owing partly to the length of his body and partly to his being unable to raise himself above the surface of the ground：so he went and complained to Jupiter about the risks to which he was exposed.But Jupiter had little sympathy for him.“I dare say，”said he，“that if you had bitten the ？rst that trod on you，the others would have taken more trouble to look where they put their feet.”
｛中文阅读｝
一条蛇因为人类和其他野兽的践踏常常生活在水深火热之中，部分原因是他的身体过长，另一部分原因是他无法离开地面。于是，他便跑去向朱庇特抱怨自己所暴露出的危险。可是，朱庇特却不怎么同情他。朱庇特说：“如果你咬了第一个践踏你的人，其他人就不再敢冒险这样做了。”
THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW
狼和他的影子
A Wolf，who was roaming about on the plain when the sun was getting low in the sky，was much impressed by the size of his shadow，and said to himself，“I had no idea I was so big.Fancy my being afraid of a lion！Why，I，not he，ought to be King of the beasts”；and，heedless of danger，he strutted about as if there could be no doubt at all about it.Just then a lion sprang upon him and began to devour him.“Alas，”hecried，“had I not lost sight of the facts，I shouldn’t have been ruined bymy fancies.”
｛中文阅读｝
一只狼在日落时漫步于平原上，看到自己的影子那么长，他得意洋洋地自言自语道：“我还不知道自己的身体居然有这么大。难以想象我竟然还怕一只狮子！不，我不应该害怕他，我应该做百兽之王。”他沉醉于其中，忽视了身边的危险。这时，一只狮子向他扑来，开始撕咬他。“哎呀！”狼大声喊道，“若不是沉醉于虚幻之中，我就不会被自己的幻想毁了呀。”
THE PLOUGHMAN AND THE WOLF
农夫和狼
A Ploughman loosed his oxen from the plough，and led them away to the water to drink.While he was absent a half-starved Wolf appeared on the scene，and went up to the plough and began chewing the leather straps attached to the yoke.As he gnawed away desperately in the hope of satisfying his craving for food，he somehow got entangled in the harness，and，taking fright，struggled to get free，tugging at the traces as if he would drag the plough along with him.Just then the Ploughman came back，and seeing what was happening，he cried，“Ah，you oldrascal，I wish you would give up thieving for good and take to honest work instead.”
｛中文阅读｝
农夫松开牛脖子上挂着的牛轭，牵着它们到水边去喝水。这时，一只饿得半死的狼出现了，他走到犁旁边，开始咀嚼牛轭上的皮套。为了能够填饱肚子，狼拼命地啃那皮套，不知不觉就将头伸进了牛轭中，惊慌中的狼拼命挣扎着想重获自由，结果只好拉着犁跑，就像要去田里耕地似的。恰巧农夫回来了，看到眼前发生的一切，便说：“啊，你这个可恶的东西，但愿你弃恶从善，干点正经事。”
MERCURY AND THE MAN BITTEN BY AN ANT
墨丘利和被蚂蚁所咬的人
A Man once saw a ship go down with all its crew，and commented severely on the injustice of the gods.“They care nothing for a man’s character，”said he，“but let the good and the bad go to their deaths together.”There was an ant-heap close by where he was standing，and，just as he spoke，he was bitten in the foot by an Ant.Turning in a temper to the ant-heap he stamped upon it and crushed hundreds of unoffending ants.Suddenly Mercury appeared，and belaboured him with his staff，saying as he did so，“You villain，where’s your nice sense of justice now？”
｛中文阅读｝
一个人在海边看见一艘船遇难，船上的人全都被淹死了，他便愤愤不平地抱怨上帝。“唉，上帝都不考虑一个人的品格，”他说，“竟然让好人和坏人一起死了。”这个人当时正站在一个蚂蚁窝旁，当他说这番话时，被爬到脚上的一只蚂蚁咬了一口。他立刻冲着身旁的蚂蚁窝撒起火来，碾死了许多并没有伤害他的蚂蚁。这时，墨丘利出现了，用棍棒痛打了他一顿，而且还重复着那人刚才所说的话：“你这个恶棍，现在你的正义感又去哪里了呢？”
THE WILY LION
狡猾的狮子
A Lion watched a fat Bull feeding in a meadow，and his mouth watered when he thought of the royal feast he would make，but he did not dare to attack him，for he was afraid of his sharp horns.Hunger，however，presently compelled him to do something：and as the use of force did not promise success，he determined to resort to arti？ce.Going up to the Bull in friendly fashion，he said to him，“I cannot help saying how much I admire your magnificent figure.What a fine head！What powerful shoulders and thighs！But，my dear friend，what in the world makes you wear those ugly horns？You must find them as awkward as they are unsightly.Believe me，you would do much better without them.”The Bull was foolish enough to be persuaded by this ？attery to have his horns cut off；and，having now lost his only means of defence，fell an easy prey to the Lion.
｛中文阅读｝
一只狮子看见一头肥壮的公牛正在吃草，一想到这是一顿美味佳肴，口水禁不住就流了出来，可是他又畏惧公牛的尖角，不敢轻易发起进攻。然而，饥饿促使他一定要做点什么。单凭武力，他肯定无法成功，于是狮子决定用诡计智取。他带着友好的姿态走到公牛身旁，对公牛说：“简直无法用语言来表达我对您那魔鬼般的身材有多羡慕，这是多么漂亮的头呀，多么宽阔结实的肩膀和大腿呀！不过，亲爱的朋友，究竟是什么让你戴着这两只奇丑无比的角呢？你一定也发现了，它们又笨拙又丑陋。相信我，若是没有了这两只角，你肯定会更好。”公牛也够蠢的，竟然被这番恭维所说服，把自己的两只角折断了，刚刚失去用以防卫的武器，公牛就轻易地被狮子虏获了。
