英文幽默故事：A Wise Deer and A Cowardly Tiger

There was a dense¹ forest on the sides of a mountain. Many kinds of animals lived in the forest. A deer was eating grass and leaves with her two young ones. The young ones wandered happily here and there. The deer followed her fawns². The young ones entered a cave. The deer was frightened. It was a tiger’s cave. There were bones of dead animals all over the cave. Fortunately, the tiger was not inside the cave at the time.

 

The deer was trying to lead her young ones out of the cave. AT that time she heard a loud roar. She saw the tiger at a distance. The tiger was coming towards the cave. It was dangerous to go out of the cave now. She thought of a plan. The tiger had come closer to the cave. The deer raised her voice and shouted, “My deer young children do not weep. I shall capture a tiger for you to eat. You can have a good dinner."

 

The tiger heard these words. He was disturbed. He said to himself, “Whose is that strange voice from the cave? A dangerous animal is staying inside to capture me. I shall run away to escape death."

 

So saying, the tiger began to run away from there as fast as possible.

 

A jackal saw the running tiger. “Why are you running in great fear?" the jackal asked. The tiger said, “My friend, a powerful and fierce animal has come to stay in my cave. The young ones are crying for a tiger to eat. The mother is promising³ to capture a tiger for them. So, I am running away in great fear."

 

The cunning jackal was now sure. The tiger was a coward. It said to the tiger. “Do not be afraid. No animal is fiercer or stronger than a tiger. Let us go together to find out."

 

But the tiger said, “I do not want to take a chance. You may run away. I will be left alone to die. So, I will not come with you."

 

The jackal said, “Trust me. Let us knot our tails together. Then I will not be able to leave you."

 

The tiger agreed unwillingly⁴ to this proposal. The jackal tied their tails in a knot. Now they walked towards the cave together.

 

The deer saw the jackal and the tiger coming together. She again raised her voice. She shouted towards her children standing⁵ inside the cave, “My dear children, I had requested her friend, the clever jackal, to capture a tiger for us. Now look the jackal has captured a tiger for us. He has tied the tiger’s tail to his tail. This is to prevent the tiger from escaping. You will soon have the tiger for our dinner."

 

The tiger heard this. He was shocked. He was sure now. The jackal cheated him. So, the tiger decided⁶ to escape from the terrible animal standing inside his cave. He started running. He forgot about the jackal. He dragged the jackal over rocks and thorns. In the mad escape the jackal was caught between two rocks. The tiger pulled with all his might. His tail got cut. The jackal was killed in this incident. The tail-less tiger ran away to another part of the forest.

 

The deer and her young ones left the tiger’s cave. They joined their herd⁷ safely. 

1 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

2 fawns   

n.（未满一岁的）幼鹿( fawn的名词复数 )；浅黄褐色；乞怜者；奉承者v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的第三人称单数 )；巴结；讨好

参考例句：

• He fawns on anyone in an influential position. 他向一切身居要职的人谄媚。 来自辞典例句
• The way Michael fawns on the boss makes heave. 迈克讨好老板的样子真叫我恶心。 来自互联网

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

5 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。

6 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。

7 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。