英文幽默故事：The Pigeon and The Bad Crows

Once upon a time there lived a farmer. He had amassed¹ wealth by selling the produces that he got from his farms. He distributed that wealth to all the needy² people. So, the whole village revered³ him for his magnanimity. But he had a persistent⁴ problem in his farms. Whenever he sowed seeds in his farm, the crows would come and eat them up. He was worried about this trouble and his profit from the farms went reduced. The contemplated⁵ the problem and came to a conclusion. 

 

“I must do something about these crows. I will be ruined if I do not stop this dangerous and destroying tendency of these crows," he thought. He consulted this problem with his friends. They gave an idea to get rid of this nagging⁶ problem. 

 

The next day, as suggested by his friends, the farmer bought a scarecrow and placed it on the farm. The he sowed his seeds. “This season, I hope, I will get a good harvest," he said to himself softly. 

 

When the farmer came to his farm a few days later, he saw that crows had pushed the scarecrow on to the ground. And the grains were all eaten. The farmer cried out, “I am ruined." He again took this matter to his well-wishers. They decided⁷ to adopt another idea to bring this matter to an end. 

 

The farmer sat the whole night thinking of a plan to get rid of the crows. Finally, just before dawn he had an idea, “I must go to the town and buy a large net. I will trap the crows in the net," he decided. Then he went to sleep. 

 

The farmer then bought a net and some grain. He laid the net on the farm and spread the grain over it. Then he went and hid himself. 

 

Soon the crows came to the fields to pick the grains. They were there. “More grains! That farmer is indeed a foolish, he does not seem to learn," said the crows to each other. And they laughed among themselves. But suddenly they realized that they were trapped. They realized their foolish approach and greedy nature. 

 

Before long, the farmer was standing⁸ over the crows. “Aha! Finally, I have got you all. For the destruction you have caused me, I will put you all to death." 

 

Suddenly the farmer heard a feeble⁹ voice among the noises of the crows. There was a pigeon among the crows. Both the pigeon and the bad crows were in the net. Both the pigeon and the bad crows were sad. The pigeon said, “Mr. Farmer, please let me go. You are angry with the crows, not with me." 

 

The farmer said, “But you too have been caught stealing from my farm. I will not spare you," said the farmer. The pigeon had to pay a heavy price for having been in bad company. The farmer did not spare the pigeon either and he killed all the birds caught in his net. After that day, he was happy with his farm and he earned as usual heavy profit from his harvest.  

1 amassed   

v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He amassed a fortune from silver mining. 他靠开采银矿积累了一笔财富。
• They have amassed a fortune in just a few years. 他们在几年的时间里就聚集了一笔财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

3 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

4 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

5 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

6 nagging   

adj.唠叨的，挑剔的；使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的现在分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• Stop nagging—I'll do it as soon as I can. 别唠叨了—我会尽快做的。
• I've got a nagging pain in my lower back. 我后背下方老是疼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 feeble   

adj.虚弱的，衰弱的，无力的，无效的，无益的

参考例句：

• She made a feeble effort to get to school on time.她努力想按时赶到学校，但未成功。
• An old or sick person is often feeble.老人或病人往往很虚弱。