The fisherman and the sprat 渔夫和鲱鱼（中英）

A Fisherman cast his net into the sea, and when he drew it up again it contained nothing but a single Sprat that begged to be put back into the water. “I’m only a little fish now,” it said, “but I shall grow big one day, and then if you come and catch me again I shall be of some use to you.” But the Fisherman replied, “Oh, no, I shall keep you now I’ve got you: if I put you back, should I ever see you again? Not likely!”

渔夫将网撒向大海，当他再次收网时，只看到一条翻腾着想回大海里去的小鲱鱼。“我只是一条小鱼，”可怜的小鱼说，“但是我总有一天会长大，等我长大后，你再来抓我，那时才会对你更有好处。”然而，渔夫却回答说：“不行，我现在就要留下你来，如果我放你回去，还会再看到你吗？绝对不会了！”