双语美文：鼠夹

 A Mouse Trap 鼠夹

A Mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. "What food might this contain?" He was devastated¹ to discover it was a mousetrap. 

一只老鼠透过墙上的裂缝看到农夫和他的妻子正在打开一个包裹。“里面可能装的是什么吃的呢？”它想。可是当它看到里面是一个捕鼠器的时候，它吓坏了。

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house, there is a mousetrap in the house!" 

逃回牧场，老鼠郑重地发出警告：“屋子里有个捕鼠器，屋子里有个捕鼠器！”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." 

小鸡抓着地，抬起头，咯咯咯地说：“老鼠先生，我看得出这对你来说是个非常严重的顾虑，但是对我却什么后果也不会有。我不想被这种事打搅。”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house!" 

老鼠转身告诉猪说：“屋子里有个捕鼠器！”

The pig sympathized but said, "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." 

猪很同情地说：“老鼠先生，我很难过，但是除了祈祷我无能为力。不过请相信我会为你祈祷的。”

The mouse turned to the cow who said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you. But it's no skin off my nose." 

老鼠随转向奶牛，奶牛说：“喔，老鼠先生，我很为你难过，但是这并伤不到我的皮毛。”

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching² its prey³. 

于是，老鼠回到屋子里，垂头丧气地，独自面对农民的捕鼠器。那天晚上，屋子传来了一个声音，听起来是捕鼠器抓到什么了。

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness the wife did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. 

农民的妻子奔去看抓到了什么。在黑暗中，农民的妻子没有发现是一条毒蛇的尾巴被捕鼠器夹住了。蛇咬了农民的妻子。

The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet⁴ to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. 

农民赶忙带她去了医院，她回来时还发着高烧。人们都知道要医治高烧，得用新鲜的鸡汤，于是农民拿着短斧，到牧场上去取鸡汤的主要原料。

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. 

但是他妻子的并还是没好，所以不断地有朋友和邻居来陪她。为了给他们弄吃的，农夫把猪给杀了。

The farmer's wife did not get well. She died; And so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered⁵ to provide enough meat for all of them. 

农夫妻子的病没有好转。她病故了，来参加她葬礼的人非常多，为了让大家有东西吃，农夫将奶牛也宰了。

So next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it doesn't concern you, remember that when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. 

所以，下次你再听到某人说遇到问题，而你认为与你无关时，记住一点：只要我们中间任何一个人遇到威胁，所有的人都会有危险。

We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and be willing to make that extra effort to encourage one another 

我们共同走在人生的旅途上。我们应该相互照顾，并且愿意为相互激励而作出额外的贡献。 

1 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 hatchet   

n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀

参考例句：

• I shall have to take a hatchet to that stump.我得用一把短柄斧来劈这树桩。
• Do not remove a fly from your friend's forehead with a hatchet.别用斧头拍打朋友额头上的苍蝇。

5 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》