英文幽默故事：The Monkey and The Juggler

In a mango orchard¹ outside a village there lived a mischievous² monkey. The whole day, he would jump from one tree to another. Thus the monkey kept on eating the ripe mangoes. The orchard-keeper tried to trap the monkey. But every time the monkey escaped the trap. 

 

One day, the monkey wandered out to the nearby town. “The town people are so busy. There is so much crowd here," the monkey thought. Soon the monkey was sneaking³ into houses and running away with eatables. By evening, he had made life difficult for the town people. “The town is more fun than the orchard. I will live here," he thought. 

 

Days went by and the monkey was looked upon by the town people with terror. “Here he comes again," they screamed when they saw the monkey. 

 

One day, a juggler⁴ came to the town. The people of the town approached him. “We want you to help us get rid of that mischievous monkey," they said to the juggler. The juggler said in return, “Do not worry. Get me some jars with narrow necks," 

 

When the jars of the size were brought to him, he put peanuts into the jars and placed them out on a field. 

 

The monkey became curious when he saw the jars. When he went and peeped inside the jars, he saw peanuts. “Yummy! Let me quickly grab the peanuts and run," he thought. He put his hand inside the jar and grabbed a big handful. 

 

But he could not pull out his clenched⁵ fist, as the neck of the jar was so narrow. If the monkey dropped some peanuts back into the jar, he could have pulled his hand out. But he was greedy. So he did not drop some peanuts into the jar. 

 

The town people trapped the monkey with his hand inside the jar. They got hold of the rope and tied him in a post. Then the monkey was sold to a zoo. That was the end of the greedy monkey. 

 

1 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

2 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。

3 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

4 juggler   

n. 变戏法者, 行骗者

参考例句：

• Dick was a juggler, who threw mists before your eyes. 迪克是个骗子，他在你面前故弄玄虚。
• The juggler juggled three bottles. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接3个瓶子。

5 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》