兩頭驢

思年

A wild donkey once met a tame donkey feeding on a hillside. The wild donkey was thin and small.

He spent his life out of doors， sheltering as best he could in the cold weather and eating the sparse hill grass all the year around.

He sometimes had to walk miles to find fresh water and at night there was always danger from prowling wolves.

The tame donkey was sleek and fat. During the summer he fed on the rich meadow grass while in winter he was given corn and hay to eat.

There was always a pail of fresh water for him to drink and at night he was shut safely in a stable. “How lucky you are！” said the wild donkey，“I wish I could live like you.”

A few days later the wild donkey was once more foraging on the hillside. Looking down he saw the tame donkey walking slowly along the road， carrying a heavy load of wood.

As he watched， the tame donkey paused to enrich at a thistle growing by the roadside， immediately his driver began to shout and to beat him with a stick.

“Ive changed my mind about your way of life！” thought the wild donkey， “I see that you have to pay heavily for the corn and hay they gives you.”

有一次，一頭野驢看到一頭家驢正在山坡上吃草。生活在野外的野驢又瘦又小。

天氣寒冷時，它還得努力找個較好的藏身之處，山上零星的小草就是它平日的食物。

有時，為了找到干凈的水源解渴，它不得不跑到幾英里外的地方。晚上它還要提防到處覓食的狼群。

可那頭家驢卻肥肥壯壯的。夏天，牧場里豐美的鮮草可以任它享用。冬天，有人為它準備了谷物和干草。

那兒總有一桶它可以隨時飲用的干凈水，到了晚上，它可以在牲口棚里放心地過夜?！澳闾疫\了！”野驢說，“我真羨慕你那種生活。”

數(shù)天后，野驢又來到山坡上吃草。它俯身向山下望去，看到家驢正馱著沉重的木頭，緩慢地沿著路邊走著。

當野驢看著的時候，家驢想停下來吃路邊的薊草，趕驢人馬上對它大吼，并用棍子抽打它。

“我不想過你那樣的生活了！”野驢心想，“我終于知道了，要得到主人的谷物和干草，你必須付出沉重的代價?！?/p>

【Notes】

①tame [teIm] adj. 馴服的，柔順的

②sparse [spɑ？蘼s] adj. 稀少的，稀疏的

③meadow [？謖med？藜？尬] n. 草地，牧場

④corn [k？蘅？蘼n] n. 谷物，玉米

⑤hay [heI] n. 干草

⑥stable [？謖steIbl] adj. 穩(wěn)定的，安定的

⑦enrich [In？謖rIt？蘩] vt. 使肥沃，使富足