The farmer and the stork 农夫和鹳（中英）

A Farmer set some traps in a field which he had lately sown with corn, in order to catch the cranes which came to pick up the seed. When here turned to look at his traps he found several cranes caught, and among them a Stork, which begged to be let go, and said, “You ought not to kill me: I am not a crane, but a Stork, as you can easily see by my feathers, and I am the most honest and harmless of birds.” But the Farmer replied, “It’s nothing to me what you are: I find you among these cranes, who ruin my crops, and, like them, you shall suffer.” If you choose bad companions no one will believe that you are anything but bad yourself.

为了捉住那些前来偷吃种子的鹤，农夫在刚刚播种的田里布下许多陷阱。等农夫再来检查陷阱时，发现几只鹤被捉住了，其中还有一只鹳。鹳哀求农夫放了自己，他说：“你不应该杀了我，因为我又不是鹤，而是一只鹳，你仔细看看我的羽毛，就明白我与鹤完全不同了。我是最诚实的鸟儿，从不伤害别人。”然而，农夫却说：“你究竟是什么，对我来说并不重要，但是我在网中发现了你，那你就得和这些毁了庄稼的鹤一起受苦了。”