The Wolf and The Lamb

THE  WOLF  AND THE LAMB

A wolf came upon a Lamb straying from the flock and felt somereluctance about taking the life of so helpless a creature without someplausible excuse: so he cast about for a grievance and said at last, “Lastyear, sir, you grossly insulted me.” 

“That is impossible, sir,” bleated the Lamb, “For I wasn’tborn then.” 

 “Well,” retorted the Wolf, “you feed in my pastures.”

“That cannot be,” replied the Lamb, “for I have never yettasted grass.”

“You drink from my spring, then,” continued the wolf.

“Indeed, sir,” said the poor Lamb, “I have never yet drunkanything but my mother’s milk.”

“Well, anyhow,” said the Wolf, “I’m not going without mydinner,” and he sprang upon the Lamb and devoured it without more ado.

-----------------------------------------------------

我来解释一下：

A wolf came upon a Lamb straying from the flock and felt somereluctance about taking the life of so helpless a creature without someplausible excuse:

一只狼遇见一只离群走失的小羊羔。它觉得对吃掉这样一只可怜无助的小动物有点犹豫，- 要有一个借口才行。

Come Upon:  遇见            Stray:  走失，偏离            Flock： 一群，羊群

Reluctance:  犹豫    Creature:  小动物，小生物        Plausible:  似是而非的

So he cast for a grievance and said at last, “Last year, sir,you grossly insulted me.”

这样，狼先抛出不满，最后终于说：“去年，你粗鲁的侮辱了我。”

Cast:  抛出      grievance：不满，不平      Gross:  粗鲁的      Insult:  侮辱         “That is impossible, sir,” bleated the Lamb, “For I wasn’tborn then.”

“先生，那是不可能的。“小羊羔咩咩的叫着说，“因为那时我还没出生呢。”

Bleat:  咩（小羊，小牛的叫声）

“Well,” retorted the Wolf, “you feed in my pastures.”

“那么，“狼反驳说：”你在我的草地上吃过草。“

Retort:  反驳                           Pasture:  草地，牧场

“That cannot be,” replied the Lamb, “for I have never yettasted grass.”

“那也是不可能的。”小羊羔回答说，“到现在我还不知道草是什么滋味呢。”

Taste:  味道，品味，v   品尝

“You drink from my spring, then,” continued the wolf.

“那么，你一定喝了我的泉水。”狼接着说。

Spring:  春天，泉水              

“Indeed, sir,” said the poor Lamb, “I have never yet drunkanything but my mother’s milk.”

“真的吗？”可怜的小羊羔说，“到现在，我只喝过我妈妈的奶呀。”

Indeed:  确实的，

“Well, anyhow,” said the Wolf, “I’m not going without mydinner,” and he sprang upon the Lamb and devoured it without more ado.

“不管怎么样。”狼说道：“我不能放着我的晚餐不吃就离开！” 它不再多说，扑向小羊羔，将其吞食掉了。

Spring:  跳起来，扑过去                               Devour:  吞食，毁灭

Without more ado:    二话没说 （立即做 。 。 。）

Hypocritical speeches are easily seen through.

虚伪的言词很容易被看穿。