“I saw，”said the little mouse，“that the ants were always running to and fro with her burdens on their backs.Once I saw one of them drop her load，she gave herself a great deal of trouble in trying to raise it again，but she could not succeed.Then two others came up and tried with all their strength to help her，till they nearly dropped their own burdens in doing so，then they were obliged to stop for a moment in their help，for every one must think of himself first.And the antqueen remarked that their conduct that day showed that they possessed kind hearts and good understanding.‘These two qualities，’she continued，‘place us ants in the highest degree above all other reasonable beings.Understanding must therefore be seen among us in the most prominent(prominent adj.卓越的，显著的，突出的)manner，and my wisdom is greater than all.’And so saying she raised herself on her two hind legs，that no one else might be mistaken for her.I could not therefore make an error，so I ate her up.We are to go to the ants to learn wisdom，and I had got the queen.
小耗子继续说：“我看到蚂蚁老是背着重负跑来跑去，他们有一位把重负丢掉了；他费了很大的气力想把它捡起来，但是没有成功。这时另外两只蚂蚁来了，尽他们最大的努力来帮助他，结果他们自己背着的东西也几乎弄得滚下来了。所以他们只好不管了。因为人们得先考虑自己——而且蚂蚁皇后也谈过这样的问题，说这种做法既可表示出同情心，同时又可表示出理智。这两个方面‘使我们蚂蚁在一切有理智的动物中占最高的位置。理智应该是、而且一定是最主要的东西，而我在这方面恰恰最突出！’于是她就用她的后腿站起来，好使得人们一眼就可以看清她……我再也不会弄错了；我一口把她吃掉。到蚁群中去，学习智慧吧！我都装进肚皮里去了！
“I now turned and went nearer to the lofty tree already mentioned，which was an oak.It had a tall trunk with a widespreading top，and was very old.I knew that a living being dwelt here，a dryad as she is called，who is born with the tree and dies with it.I had heard this in the library，and here was just such a tree，and in it an oakmaiden.She uttered a terrible scream when she caught sight of me so near to her，like many women，she was very much afraid of mice.And she had more real cause for fear than they have，for I might have gnawed(gnaw v.咬，啃，啮，使苦恼，消耗，折磨，侵蚀)through the tree on which her life depended.I spoke to her in a kind and friendly manner，and begged her to take courage.At last she took me up in her delicate hand，and then I told her what had brought me out into the world，and she promised me that perhaps on that very evening she should be able to obtain for me one of the two treasures for which I was seeking.”
“我现在向刚才说的那株大树走去。它是一棵栎树，有很高的躯干和浓密的树顶；它的年纪也很老。我知道这儿住着一个生物——一个女人——人们把她叫树精：她跟树一起生下来，也跟树一起死去。这件事是我在图书馆里听到的；现在我算是看到这样一棵树和这样一个栎树精了。当她看到我走得很近的时候，她就发出一个可怕的尖叫声来。像所有的女人一样，她非常害怕耗子。比起别人来，她更有害怕的理由，因为我可以把树咬断，她没有树就没有生命。我以一种和蔼和热诚的态度和她谈话，给她勇气。她把我拿到她柔嫩的手里。当她知道了我旅行到这个茫茫大世界里来的目的时，她答应我说，可能就在这天晚上我会得到我所追求的两件宝物之一。
“She told me that Phantaesus was her very dear friend，that he was as beautiful as the god of love，that he remained often for many hours with her under the leafy boughs of the tree which then rustled and waved more than ever over them both.He called her his dryad，she said，and the tree his tree，for the grand old oak，with its gnarled trunk，was just to his taste.The root，spreading deep into the earth，the top rising high in the fresh air，knew the value of the drifted snow，the keen wind，and the warm sunshine，as it ought to be known.‘Yes，’continued the dryad，‘the birds sing up above in the branches，and talk to each other about the beautiful fields they have visited in foreign lands；and on one of the withered boughs a stork has built his nest，—it is beautifully arranged，and besides it is pleasant to hear a little about the land of the pyramids.All this pleases Phantaesus，but it is not enough for him，I am obliged to relate to him of my life in the woods，and to go back to my childhood，when I was little，and the tree so small and delicate that a stingingnettle could overshadow it，and I have to tell everything that has happened since then till now that the tree is so large and strong.Sit you down now under the green bindwood(bindwood n.常春藤)and pay attention，when Phantaesus comes I will find an opportunity to lay hold of his wing and to pull out one of the little feathers.That feather you shall have；a better was never given to any poet，it will be quite enough for you.’
“她告诉我说，幻想是她最好的朋友，他是像爱神一样美丽，他常常到这树枝的浓叶中来休息——这时树枝就在他们两人头上摇得更起劲。她说：他把她叫做树精，而这树就是他的树，因为这棵瘤疤很多的老栎树是他所喜爱的一棵树，它的根深深地钻进土里，它的躯干和簇顶高高地伸到新鲜的空气中去，它对于飘着的雪、强劲的风和暖和的太阳，知道得比任何人都清楚。是的，她这样说过，‘鸟儿在那上面唱着歌，讲着一些关于异国的故事！在那惟一的死枝上鹳鸟筑了一个与树儿非常相称的巢，人们可以从它们那里听到一些关于金字塔的国度的事情，幻想非常喜欢这类的事情，但是这还不能满足他。我还把这树在我小时的生活告诉他；那时这树很嫩，连一棵荨麻都可以把它掩盖住——我得一直讲到这树怎么长得现在这样粗大为止。请你在车叶草下面坐着，注意看吧。当幻想到来的时候，我将要找一个机会来捻住他的翅膀，扯下他的一根小羽毛来。把这羽毛拿去吧——任何诗人都不能得到比这更好的东西——你有这就够了！’
“And when Phantaesus came the feather was plucked，and，”said the little mouse，“I seized and put it in water，and kept it there till it was quite soft.It was very heavy and indigestible，but I managed to nibble it up at last.It is not so easy to nibble ones self into a poet，there are so many things to get through.Now，however，I had two of them，understanding and imagination，and through these I knew that the third was to be found in the library.A great man has said and written that there are novels whose sole and only use appeared to be that they might relieve mankind of overflowing tears—a kind of sponge，in fact，for sucking up feelings and emotions.I remembered a few of these books，they had always appeared tempting to the appetite，they had been much read，and were so greasy，that they must have absorbed no end of emotions in themselves.
“当幻想到来的时候，羽毛就被拔下一根来了。我赶快把它抢过来。”小耗子说。“我把它捏着放在水里，使它变得柔软！把它吃下去是很不容易的，因为它比较难消化，但我却把它啃掉了！现在我已经有了两件东西：幻想和理解。通过这两件东西，我知道第三件就可以在图书馆里找得到了。一位伟人曾经写过和说过：有些长篇小说惟一的功用是它们能够减轻人们多余的眼泪，因为它们是像海绵一样，能把情感吸收进去。我记起一两本这类的书；我觉得它们很合人的胃口；它们不知被人翻过多少次，油腻得很，无疑地它们已经吸收了许多人们的感情。
