The Old Cat
An old woman had a cat. The cat was very old; she could not run quickly, and she could not bite, because she was so old. One day the old cat saw a mouse; she jumped and caught the mouse. But she could not bite it; so the mouse got out of her mouth and ran away, because the cat could not bite it.
Then the old woman became very angry because the cat had not killed the mouse. She began to hit the cat. The cat said, "Do not hit your old servant. I have worked for you for many years, and I would work for you still, but I am too old. Do not be unkind to the old, but remember what good work the old did when they were young."
老猫
一位老妇有只猫,这只猫很老,它跑不快了,也咬不了东西,因为它年纪太大了.一天,老猫发现一只老鼠,它跳过去抓这只老鼠,然而,它咬不住这只老鼠.因此,老鼠从它的嘴边溜掉了,因为老猫咬不了它.
于是,老妇很生气,因为老猫没有把老鼠咬死.她开始打这只猫,猫说：“不要打你的老仆人,我已经为你服务了很多年,而且还愿意为你效劳,但是,我实在太老了,对年纪大的不要这么无情,要记住老年人在年青时所做过的有益的事情.”
Belling the cat(系铃于猫)
Long ago, there was a big cat in the house. He caught many mice while they were stealing food.
One day the mice had a meeting to talk about the way to deal with their common enemy. Some said this, and some said that.
At last a young mouse got up, and said that he had
a good idea.
"We could tie a bell around the neck of the cat. Then when he comes near, we can hear the sound of the bell, and run away."
Everyone approved of this proposal, but an old wise mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but who will tie the bell to the cat?" The mice looked at each other, but nobody spoke.
从前,一所房子里面有一只大猫,他抓住了很多偷东西的老鼠.
一天,老鼠在一起开会商量如何对付他们共同的敌人.会上大家各有各的主张,最后,一只小老鼠站出来说他有一个好主意.
“我们可以在猫的脖子上绑一个铃铛,那么如果他来到附近,我们听到铃声就可以马上逃跑.”
大家都赞同这个建议,这时一只聪明的老耗子站出来说：“这的确是个绝妙的主意,但是谁来给猫的脖子上绑铃铛呢?”老鼠们面面相觑,谁也没有说话.
寓意: 有些事情说起来容易,做起来却很难.