The wolf and the Crane

A  wolf devoured his prey so ravenously that a bone got stuck in his throat,and in extreme agony,he ran and howled throughout the forest,beseeching every animal he met to pull out the bone.He even offered a generous reward to anyone who succeeded in pulling it out.Moved by his pleas as well as the prospect of the money,a crane ventured her long neck down the wolf's throat and drew out the bone.She then modestly asked for the promised reward,but the wolf just grinned and bared his teeth.

"Ungrateful creature!"he replied with seeming indignation."How dare you ask for any other reward than your life?After all,you're among the very few who can say that you've put your head into the jaws of a wolf and were premitted to draw it out in safety."

Expect no reward when you serve the wicked,and be thankful if you escape injury for your pains.

【关键词】

devoure  v.吞没

prey n.猎物

ravenous[ˈrævənəs]   adj.极饿的

throat  n.咽喉

pleas  n.请求

prospect[ˈprɒspekt]  n.前景，期望

venture[ˈventʃə(r)] v.冒险

grinned  露齿而笑

ungrateful adj.忘恩负义的

wicked[ˈwɪkɪd]    adj.邪恶的

【翻译】

一只饿狼正大口地吞着它的猎物，突然一根骨头卡在它的喉咙。它非常的痛苦，边吼边叫地穿过森林，乞求它见到的每个动物，帮它把骨头拔出来。它甚至承诺，如果谁帮它把骨头拔出来，就奖励谁一个精美的礼物。一只鹤被狼的乞求感动了，为了得到奖励，鹤冒险将脖子伸进狼的嘴里，帮它把骨头拔了出来。然后，鹤小心地问狼索要答应的奖励。但是，狼却邪恶地笑了，并露出了他的牙齿。

“忘恩负义的东西！”狼愤怒地吼到，”除了你的命之外，你竟敢索要别的奖励？毕竟，将头伸到狼的嘴里，并且狼答应让它安全伸出的动物，你是仅有的一个。”

当你帮助那些坏人时，不要期望它报答你。能够不受它伤害，你就心怀感激吧。