英文短故事：The Jackal and The War Drum

Once in a forest there lived a jackal named Gomaya. He was too lazy to hunt for his food. He often chased away younger jackals who would catch a prey¹ and eat it himself. 

 

All the other jackals were upset with him. They all got together and decided² to get rid of Gomaya. None of them was as big as he, and could not challenge him individually. “This is getting beyond control," said one jackal.

 

“We make all the effort and kill a prey and Gomaya comes and claims it." 

 

“I have an idea," said another jackal. 

 

“We will take turns catching³ prey. And while one of us has his food, the others together will keep Gomaya away. He is no match for all of us." 

 

Things became very difficult for Gomaya after that. He could no longer snatch⁴ food from the other jackals. They all attacked him together and chased him away. They would not even allow him to hunt in that part of the forest any more. 

 

Gomaya wandered far away into another part of the forest. At last he came to the farthest part of the forest. By now, he had not eaten for many days. He was feeling very weak and tired. “I have to find some food soon or else I will die," he thought. As he wandered around, he came to an abandoned battle field. 

 

Suddenly, there was a loud and frightening noise. “Bang! Bang! Bang!" 

 

Gomaya was filled with fear and turned and ran away as fast as he could. After running a short distance, Gomaya stopped. He could still hear the sound. But it was not coming closer. “I must be brave and find out what is causing that terrible sound," he decided. Gomaya slowly went back to the battle field. His heart was full of dread⁵, but he decided to be brave. 

 

When he got there, Gomaya sighed with relief. The sound was being made by a harmless old war drum lying beside a tree in the abandoned battle field. Every time the wind blew, the lower branches of the tree would brush against the drum making a loud noise. 

 

Gomaya was thrilled to find a lot of food lying near the war drum. He ate heartily⁶ till his stomach was full. 

 

What a fool I would have been if I had run away in fear and missed all this delicious food," thought the jackal.  

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 snatch   

n.抢夺，碎片，一阵，一瞬间，一点点；v.夺取，抢劫，抓住

参考例句：

• The magazine was snatch from my hand before I could read it.我还没来得及看那期杂志，就被从我手里抢走了。
• He had a snatch of sleep sitting in his chair.他坐在椅子里稍睡片刻。

5 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

6 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。