文/看懂英文故事

有隻公雞昂首闊步在母雞的庭院走著 （A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens），突然發現稻草推裡有東西閃閃發亮 （when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw.）。「喔喔！ （"Ho! ho!"）」他說著 （quoth he）。「那是我的 （"that's for me,"）。」馬上把那發亮的東西從稻草底下拿起來 （and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw.）。結果發現那竟是一顆珍珠（What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard?） 。大公雞就說：「對人類來說，你可能是很珍貴的，因為他們懂得珍惜你 （"You may be a treasure," quoth Master Cock, "to men that prize you ）。可對我來說，我寧願要一顆大麥，也不想去啄一顆珍珠。（but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls."）」A cock was once strutting up and down the farmyard among the hens when suddenly he espied something shinning amid the straw. "Ho! ho!" quoth he, "that's for me," and soon rooted it out from beneath the straw. What did it turn out to be but a Pearl that by some chance had been lost in the yard? "You may be a treasure," quoth Master Cock, "to men that prize you, but for me I would rather have a single barley-corn than a peck of pearls."

The moral is that： Precious things are for those that can prize them.

小小啟發：珍貴的東西是給那些懂得珍惜他們的人 （Precious things are for those that can prize them.）。

狗和影子
有隻狗嘴巴啣著一塊肉，準備回家好好享用一番（It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace）。回家的路上（Now on his way home），他得走過一塊板子，以便穿越湍急的溪流 （he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook）。正當他走在板子上的時候 （As he crossed），往下看到河裡倒映的影子（he looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath），以為是另外一隻狗啣著另一塊肉（Thinking it was another dog with another piece of meat），他也想把那塊肉搶過來（he made up his mind to have that also），就啪的一聲往水裡跳（So he made a snap at the shadow in the water），可當他張開口（but as he opened his mouth），嘴裡的肉也掉了出來 （the piece of meat fell out），掉進水裡 （dropped into the water），消失無蹤了 （and was never seen more）。

小小啟發：注意別因為想抓住影子，把看得到的東西給丟了 （Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow）。