100个儿童英语小故事: Belling the Cat 给猫挂铃铛

 

085 Belling the Cat

All the mice met together in a council¹ against a fierce² cat. "We cannot live because of the cat. There must be some ideas to get rid of it." "Please tell us your ideas."

But despite the enthusiastic discussion³, they were unable to come up with a good idea. The oldest mouse advised the other mice, "It would be nice if someone let us know when the cat is coming." Having no good ideas, they were just studying each other's facial⁴ expressions.

At that time, the youngest mouse confidently said, "If we tie a bell around the cat's neck, we will know when the cat is approaching so we can run away." Everyone agreed to the young mouse's opinion.

Then, the leader mouse replied, "That is a good idea. If we tie a bell to the cat, we will be able to run away in advance. But, who is going to tie a bell to the cat?"

After hearing the leader, all the mice became quiet. No one wanted to tie a bell to the cat. The young mouse that offered the idea slowly read the others' faces and left the meeting.

1 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

2 fierce   

adj.凶猛的，残忍的；狂热的，强烈的

参考例句：

• The soldiers got ready for a fierce battle.战士们准备进行一场恶战。
• What he said met with fierce opposition.他的话语遭到激烈反对。

3 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

4 facial   

adj.面部的，脸上的

参考例句：

• I've made an appointment for a facial tomorrow.我约好明天去做美容。
• The chimpanzee uses facial expressions for communication.黑猩猩用面部表情进行交流。